Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation recently hosted a meeting of the Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC) at the company's Springfield, MA headquarters. 


Established by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the CIPAC represents a partnership between government and private sector organizations and provides a forum in which they can engage in a broad spectrum of activities to support and coordinate critical infrastructure protection. This week's meeting at Smith & Wesson focused on the Critical Manufacturing Sector, one of 18 critical infrastructure sectors identified by the Department of Homeland Security.


Stuart Ferency, Chief, Critical Manufacturing Sector – Specific Agency, said, “I salute Smith & Wesson for hosting this important CIPAC meeting. The successful security of the Nation's Critical Manufacturing Sector rests on the partnership of industry and government working collaboratively in an open and trusted exchange of ideas and security best practices.  That is exactly what occurred this week.”


The Critical Manufacturing Sector is made up of a Sector Coordinating Council (SCC), which is comprised of 23 members from the private manufacturing sector, and a Government Coordinating Council (GCC), which is comprised of a number of government counterparts from federal, state, local and tribal government entities.  A majority of SCC members are large, United States-based companies.  A total of 50 attendees represented the SCC and the GCC at this week's meeting. 


In addition to addressing a number of agenda items focused on security-related best practices, training, and programs, attendees toured Smith & Wesson's Springfield manufacturing facility.  They also viewed product demonstrations, including a variety of the company's firearms products, and the GRAB barrier, a perimeter security system designed for large corporate, government and military facilities.


Michael F. Golden, Smith & Wesson President and CEO, said, “As a member of the Critical Manufacturing Sector, we are committed to the goals of CIPAC.  We were honored to host this distinguished group of industry and government leaders in a meeting that helped move forward our collective efforts at infrastructure protection.”