SMITHS GROUP PLC company profile

Overview

Smiths Group plc is a UK-headquartered engineering company whose stated purpose is “engineering a better future.” Following the FY2026 sales of Smiths Interconnect and Smiths Detection, its continuing businesses are John Crane, which supplies mechanical seals, seal-support systems, couplings and filtration solutions, and Flex-Tek, which makes engineered components and thermal solutions for managing liquids and gases. Their customers span energy and process industries, construction and aerospace.[1]

For FY2026, continuing-operations revenue was £1,937 million. Smiths says it operates in about 50 countries; its company history page reports more than 16,000 employees. The company traces its origins to Samuel Smith’s London watchmaking shop, opened in 1851.[5] [1]

Products & services

Smiths Group’s continuing portfolio includes John Crane mechanical seals and related rotating-equipment services. Its Type 8628VL is a non-contacting pipeline seal designed for multiphase ethane and ethylene service, with a stated mean time between repair of up to 48 months or longer. The Type 93AX coaxial compressor separation seal is designed to remain non-contacting for limited periods if separation gas is lost; launch testing reported up to 80% lower nitrogen consumption.[8] John Crane also offers Performance Plus, a modular service framework that includes seal reliability management, proactive support and condition monitoring through Sense Monitor and Sense Turbo.[11][12]

Flex-Tek makes the Blue Series sealed metal duct system, which the company describes as designed for faster installation and improved energy efficiency; its associated foam joint fitting and patented ribbed collar are designed to help prevent leakage and simplify installation.[13][14] Smiths Interconnect’s DaVinci Gen V semiconductor test socket supports signaling up to 224 Gbps PAM4 and frequencies above 100 GHz.[15][16]

For FY2025, products launched during the prior five years generated 30.8% of Group revenue.[17] Smiths Detection products, including the HI-SCAN 6040 CTiX cabin-baggage scanner and iLane A20 automated tray-return system, formed part of the portfolio during FY2025; Detection was sold in June 2026 and is therefore not part of the current continuing portfolio.[18][2] [8]

Geographic presence

Smiths Group operates in more than 50 countries. Its reported regional revenue mix is Americas 62%, Europe 16%, Asia-Pacific 13% and rest of world 9%; the figures are presented as a regional mix, without a clearly stated measurement period.[19] FY2025 country-by-country reporting lists Ireland revenue of £43,963,349 and 102 employees.[20]

The company identifies UK manufacturing and R&D sites in Slough, Merthyr Tydfil, Hemel Hempstead, Dundee and Manchester.[21] FY2025 year-end headcount was 16,103: John Crane 6,395; Smiths Detection 3,430; Flex-Tek 3,721; Smiths Interconnect 2,045; and Group functions 512. These figures are by business, not geography.[22] [19]

Business segments

Smiths Group reported four businesses in FY2025. John Crane provides sealing systems and related technologies for rotating equipment, serving energy and process industries; revenue was £1,115m, approximately 33% of the £3,336m total including discontinued operations (38% of continuing-operations revenue). Flex-Tek supplies engineered components that heat and move liquids and gases, principally for construction, industrial and aerospace applications; revenue was £837m, approximately 25% of the total (29% of continuing operations). Smiths Detection develops threat-detection and screening technologies for aviation, ports and borders, urban security and defence; revenue was £963m, approximately 29% of the total (33% of continuing operations).[23]

Smiths Interconnect, a provider of electronic components and subsystems, was reported as a discontinued operation and held for sale at FY2025 year-end; discontinued-operations revenue was £421m, approximately 13% of the FY2025 total.[27][28] The segmentation changed after FY2025: the FY2026 results describe continuing operations as John Crane and Flex-Tek, with combined revenue of £1,937m. The FY2025 percentages above therefore represent the latest cited full four-business revenue breakdown, rather than FY2026 segment shares.[29][5] [23]

Company history

Smiths Group traces its origins to 1851, when Samuel Smith opened a jeweller’s and watchmaker’s shop in London. The business expanded into motoring, selling its first speedometer in 1904, and was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1914. Its precision-instrument work later extended into aviation, including instruments associated with the first nonstop Atlantic crossing in 1919.[30]

A major modern turning point came in 2000, when Smiths Industries merged with TI Group; the following year, Smiths demerged its Automotive Systems Division. The company subsequently sold Smiths Aerospace to GE in 2007, acquired Morpho Detection in 2017 to expand its security-detection activities, and completed the sale of Smiths Medical to ICU Medical in 2022.[34] In 2025, Smiths announced a portfolio refocus that included selling Interconnect and separating Detection; the Interconnect and Detection sales were completed in 2026.[38] [30]

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SMITHS GROUP PLC