Smiths Group plc is a British, multinational, diversified engineering business headquartered in London, England. It operates in over 50 countries and employs 15,000 staff. Smiths Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
Smiths Group has its origins in a jewellery shop, S Smith & Sons, which was founded by the watchmaker and businessman Samuel Smith. Supplying its precision watches to various clients, including the Admiralty, the business quickly grew and expanded into a major provider of timepieces, diamonds, and automotive instrumentation. In 1875, Samuel Smith died at the age of 49; during his time in control of the firm, it had experienced a rapid rate of growth.
The companies produced a range of high quality precision watches; perhaps the most major customer for these was the Admiralty. Its precision watches were typically manufactured by Nicole Nielsen of Soho Square. During 1904, retailing and wholesaling of Smiths-branded motor accessories was launched; Nicole Nielsen produced Smiths' initial speedometer, the Perfect Speed Indicator; the first of which was delivered to Edward VII, the reigning British monarch, for the Royal Mercedes.
On 21 July 1914, Smiths Group was floated on the London Stock Exchange; the organisation has been present on the exchange for over one hundred years.
First half of 20th century
thumb|left|Nicole Nielsen speedometer, badged for S. Smith & Son, c.1907
The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 contributed to Smiths Group making gains in multiple markets around the world that had been previously held by the German competition. By 1915, new contracts issued by the British War Office for aeroplane accessories, lighting sets, and munitions required the speedy erection of a new freehold factory. This new factory, known as Cricklewood Works, was built at Cricklewood, north London. In 1921, the firm's Great Portland Street activities were moved to Cricklewood following the purchase of the former Metallurgique works alongside their Cricklewood Works. During the Interwar period, the company's accessories became standard fittings in new cars all provided by the manufacturer.
thumb|left|Smiths "Bombay" Wallclock, c.1920 At the start of the 20th century, the age of the early automobiles, Smith & Sons retailed one of the first British odometers ("mileometer") and speedometer. In the 1930s, Smiths agreed a trading deal with British rival manufacturer Lucas whereby the two would not compete in certain areas, while Lucas took on part of Smiths non-instrumentation assets.
thumb|Instruments by Smiths Instruments 1955
Smiths became the dominant supplier of instruments to British motorcar and motorcycle firms. These later 20th century instruments carried a distinctive logo, the word "SMITHS" centred above the middle of the dial and silk screened onto it in a unique house font familiar to generations of drivers.
During 1919, the distribution rights for the KLG Sparking Plug were purchased from Kenelm Lee Guinness. Smiths purchased 75 per cent of Ed. Jaeger (London) Ltd in 1927 (which became British Jaeger Instrument Company in 1932). Also in 1927, Smiths purchased the KLG Sparking Plug Company (Robinhood Engineering). The Jackall hydraulic jacking system was manufactured from 1935 by Smith's Jacking Systems and immediately became standard equipment in many popular cars. In 1937, a separate aircraft and marine department was created in the parent company and named Smiths Aircraft Instruments. It operated with Smiths subsidiary Henry Hughes and Son, who manufactured various instruments for the aviation and marine markets.
In 1946, Smiths and the Ingersoll Watch Company founded the Anglo-Celtic Watch Co. Ltd., which produced watches in Wales. At one point, this venture was one of the largest producers of watches in Europe and employed as many as 1,420 employees at its height; however, the Anglo-Celtic Watch Co. Ltd. was closed down in 1980.
Second half of 20th century
thumb|1949 [[de Havilland Comet instruments by S. Smith & Son]]
One of Smiths' "De Luxe" wristwatches was worn by Edmund Hillary on his successful ascent of Mount Everest (Rolex also supplied watches but the only watch worn to the summit was a Smiths).
The 1950s was a period of significant restructuring for Smiths Group; in 1958, Smiths Aviation and Smiths Marine were organised as separate divisions. At the time of this name change, the company's advertised product range comprised: automotive – aerospace – marine – building – medical – clocks – watches – appliance controls – industrial instruments – ceramics – electronics.
By the late 1970s, the markets for clocks, watches, and automotive instruments had progressively decreased to the point where little of Smith's revenue came from these sources.
In 1984, Smiths Industries was reorganised into three principal operating divisions: Industrial, Medical Systems, and Aerospace and Defence. On 4 December 2000, it was announced that Smiths had completed a merger with TI Group, which held interests in aerospace, industrial seals and automotive parts. During the following year, Smiths Group transferred its newly acquired automotive business into a separate corporate entity, creating TI Automotive, ahead of plans to dispose of it. In July 2002, Smiths Group established a fourth division, Smiths Detection, which specialised in producing sensors and other equipment for the detection of weapons, explosives, contraband, and various hazardous substances.
At the start of the 2000s, Smith's aerospace subsidiary, Smiths Aerospace, was a growing sector of the group; it supplied both military and civilian aerospace markets, having deliberately aimed for a 50/50 split between the two sectors. By 2002, roughly half of the division's revenue was reportedly being sourced from the North American market. Historically, Smiths Group was positioned as a first-tier aerospace supplier, frequently seeking out relevant acquisition opportunities to further its presence in the field. In October 2004, Smiths Aerospace purchased Integrated Aerospace, an American equipment supplier. In early 2007, GE Aviation, a division of American conglomerate General Electric, announced that it was acquiring Smiths Aerospace for US$4.8 billion. Smiths Group stated that it chose to sell its aerospace division, which was profitable at the time, in order to invest in other areas of the business. This transference of ownership required approval from anti-trust regulators in both Europe and the US.
In September 2011, Smiths Group acquired the American-based power technology enterprise, Power Holdings Inc., for £145 million. On 21 April 2016, it was announced that Smiths Group was in the process of acquiring Morpho Detection LLC, a US-based subsidiary of Safran; it was integrated into the Smiths Detection division.
During the 2010s, Smiths Group substantially ramped up investment in its research and development programmes.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the company continued to operate in Russia through its subsidiary John Crane Iskra LLC, which is 50% owned by the Smiths Group.
Smiths Group provided components for the landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission on the dark side of the moon in August 2023.
In October 2025, Smiths Interconnect, which produces connector devices for rugged environments, was sold to Molex. The acquisition was completed in April 2026.
In December 2025, the company announced the sale of its security scanning division, Smiths Detection, to the private equity company, CVC Capital Partners, for £2 billion. The sale was expected to complete in the second half 2026. Smiths Group was expecting to return a "large part of [the] proceeds" to shareholders.
Operations
Smiths Group is organised into four separate divisions, namely:
Smiths Detection
Smiths Detection designs and manufactures sensors that detect and identify explosives, weapons, chemical agents, biohazards, nuclear and radioactive material, narcotics and contraband. These sensors are widely used in airports, cargo screening at ports and borders, in government buildings and other critical infrastructure, as well as by the military and emergency responder services. Smiths Detection is the world's largest manufacturer of products in this sector. In December 2025, it was announced the Jersey-based private equity and investment advisory firm, CVC Capital Partners plc., had agreed to acquire Smiths Detection for approximately US$2.65 billion.
John Crane
John Crane provides products and services for the major process industries, including the oil and gas, power generation, chemical, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper and mining sectors.
Flex-Tek
Flex-Tek supplies engineered components that heat and move fluids and gases for the aerospace, medical, industrial, construction and domestic appliance markets.
Management
In 2015, Smiths appointed Andrew Reynolds Smith its CEO. Smith replaced Philip Bowman. Immediately before joining Smiths, Smith was CEO of GKN Automotive. In May 2021, Smiths appointed Paul Keel as its CEO, replacing Andrew Reynolds Smith. Prior to joining Smiths, Keel was group president of 3M's Consumer Division Group. In March 2024, Roland Carter replaced Keel as CEO: Carter had worked at the company for over 30 years and was previously president of Smiths Detection and Smiths Interconnect.