Samsung joins container security device partnership

Samsung joins container security device partnership    South Korean conglomerate Samsung Corp. has taken a minority stake in CommerceGuard and will help distribute the company’s container security devices in Asia, founding partner GE Security said.
   GE Security, a subsidiary of General Electric Co., has developed a device to detect door intrusions and track ocean containers. It began selling the wireless sensor earlier this year and is installing radio frequency identification scanners in several major ports.
   GE Security says the container security device provides accurate readings of door openings, but the product has yet to meet U.S. government thresholds for best security practices that shippers can adopt to significantly reduce cargo inspections.
   Two other industrial conglomerates, Siemens and Mitsubishi, are also CommerceGuard investors. Siemens markets the device in Europe, and Mitsubishi is the exclusive seller in Japan and China. Samsung will distribute the device throughout the rest of Asia.
   Customers place the container security devices inside containers at the factory or consolidation center and GE tracks the progress of the shipment through ports and other chokepoints to its final destination. Fixed or handheld readers communicate with the devices and transmit the status information to the GE database, where it can be shared with customers and their logistics partners.