WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced drone manufacturer and “Buy American” champion RADeCO, Inc., in Plainfield is this week’s “Murphy’s Monday Manufacturer.” RADeCO, which stands for RADiation Detection COmpany, is a manufacturer of air monitoring equipment, like drones used to detect radiation. Murphy’s office has been working closely with RADeCO CEO Keith Lovendale to ban the use of foreign drones by the U.S. government.

Earlier this year, Lovendale reached out to Murphy with his concerns about U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) purchases of Chinese-made unmanned aircraft drones that were being used to spy on America. Murphy immediately called on U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis to ban foreign-made commercial drones at DoD and instead support U.S. drone manufacturers. DoD heeded Murphy’s call and recently announced it was banning the purchase of all small commercial drones, including those made by the Chinese company DJI. Additionally, Murphy secured more transparency and critical protections for American companies against foreign-made drones in the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 2019. This was critical for national security and a huge “Buy American” victory for companies like RADeCO, which have to compete with artificially priced Chinese-made drones.

RADeCO’s air monitors, UAVs, ground vehicles and drone inspection services are used for military shipyards, nuclear power plants, the U.S. Department of Energy, and other state health and regulatory agencies. The RADeCO brand has been around for over 50 years, but is now privately owned by the Lovendale family. RADeCO operates in a 10,000 square foot facility and employs 7 people. 

“After hearing from Keith, I knew I had to do something. It was infuriating that the U.S. Department of Defense was buying Chinese drones, which posed a serious security risk, over American-made drones,” Murphy said. “Our government should be living up to its commitments under the Buy American Act. We should be buying products made right here in Connecticut, and putting our manufacturers’ jobs—not to mention our national security—first. I’m proud to highlight RADeCO and look forward to working with them.” 

“We would like to thank Senator Murphy for the recognition, and for his commitment to the Buy American Act, which will go a long way to help grow businesses and create jobs in Connecticut and across the country,” said Brad Lovendale, Vice President of RADeCO, Inc. 

The manufacturing industry plays a crucial role throughout Connecticut communities, creating new jobs and accelerating our state’s economic recovery. Today, Connecticut’s 4,600 manufacturers account for 10% of the state’s jobs and 87% of the state’s total exports. In order to protect and grow manufacturing jobs in Connecticut, Murphy has introduced two pieces of legislation that aim to strengthen existing standards and prioritize the purchase of American-made goods, the BuyAmerican.gov Act and the American Jobs Matter Act.

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