THE 1993 BUICK LESABRE parked at American Science & Engineering Inc. (AS&E) looks innocent enough. But when a mobile X-ray system made by AS&E pulls up next to the tan sedan, a computer screen reveals a chilling scene: 120 pounds of explosives and 60 pounds of drugs and cigarettes hidden in the trunk, fenders, doors, bumper, and speakers. The objects are hidden in plastic drums and behind panels, making it difficult for standard screening systems to identify them. At a border crossing, if s likely the car "would pass right through, says Doug Palmer, AS&E's technical marketing manager. The Buick's illicit payload is just a simulation--sugar is used in place of drugs, for instance--but the profits from AS&E's X-ray systems are real. A three-year turnaround effort has transformed the 48-year-old company from an also-ran to a sought-after provider of technology for scanning cargo, luggage, and ve-hicles. With an influx of orders from the U.S. government, a huge but unpredictable client, AS&E's average annual profit has skyrocketed 324 percent since 2002. Despite a profit dip in the most recent quarter due to a one-time gain the previous year, AS&E's revenues in the fiscal year ended Mar. 31 jumped 85 percent, to 163.6 million dollars, and profits rose 166.3 percent, to 29.8 million dollars. The Billerica (Mass.) company holds the No. 12 spot on BusinessWeek's annual ranking of Hot Growth Companies.
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