About Us
LEADING EDGE SAFETY
Engineered for Safety - Built for Performance
ABOUT US
Leading Edge Safety is a U.S.-based manufacturer and innovator specializing in fall protection systems for commercial and industrial applications. With a commitment to protecting lives, we design and build OSHA-compliant safety solutions for rooftops, trench boxes, and other demanding work environments. Our product lineup includes advanced guardrails, mobile fall carts, skylight protection, trench box fall protection systems, and custom-engineered solutions designed to make work safer and more efficient.
At the heart of our work is a mission to empower contractors, facility managers, and safety professionals with reliable, easy-to-deploy systems backed by expert support. Whether you're planning a roofing project, improving safety around trench boxes, or managing ongoing facility maintenance, our team is here to help you meet safety requirements without compromising productivity.
Manufacturing and Sales
1345 Taney St.
North Kansas City, MO 64116
M-F, 7AM-4:00PM CST
(888) 990-2990
North Kansas City, MO 64116
M-F, 7AM-4:00PM CST
(888) 990-2990
Assembly and Shipping
1400 Taney St.
North Kansas City, MO 64116
M-F, 7AM-4:00PM CST
(888) 990-2990
North Kansas City, MO 64116
M-F, 7AM-4:00PM CST
(888) 990-2990
The people behind the equipment you choose for your crew.
Meet the Leading Edge Safety Leadership & Team
When you select safety equipment, you’re evaluating more than a product. You’re choosing the people who develop it, manufacture it, answer your questions, and help move your order forward.
Meet the leaders and team members at Leading Edge Safety and AES Manufacturing, the manufacturing operation behind our products. Their experience spans construction, product development, customer support, and manufacturing operations—with a shared commitment to the people you’re responsible for protecting.
Discuss Your Project
Explore Safety Equipment
Meet the leaders and team members at Leading Edge Safety and AES Manufacturing, the manufacturing operation behind our products. Their experience spans construction, product development, customer support, and manufacturing operations—with a shared commitment to the people you’re responsible for protecting.
Brent E. Smith
President & CEO, Leading Edge Safety
CEO, AES Manufacturing
Field experience. Practical innovation. A personal commitment to protection.
Brent E. Smith brings more than three decades of hands-on experience in construction, sheet metal, manufacturing, product development, and workplace safety. His work connects an understanding of jobsite demands with the responsibility of developing equipment intended to help protect workers.
Brent’s career began in the Kansas City construction industry, following a family tradition that includes J&L Sheet Metal, founded by his grandfather in 1964. After graduating from Shawnee Mission West, he completed the Local No. 2 Sheet Metal Workers apprenticeship. He went on to work as an installer, fabricator, superintendent, estimator, and project manager—gaining experience with both the work in the field and the decisions behind it.
After witnessing firsthand the life-changing consequences of a worker falling from a roof, Brent became determined to find better ways to protect people while allowing them to remain productive. That commitment helped lead to the original Raptor mobile fall protection concept and the growth of Leading Edge Safety.
A patented inventor, Brent is named on granted U.S. patents covering fall arrest equipment, safety railing systems, and other tools and technologies. He remains actively involved in product development, listening to workers and helping turn jobsite challenges into practical equipment solutions.
As CEO of AES Manufacturing, Brent also helps connect product development with manufacturing. The operation keeps the companies directly involved in engineering, fabrication, testing, quality, and continuous improvement.
For Brent, the purpose remains personal: help the people doing the work go home safely at the end of the day.
Areas of experience
- Construction and sheet metal trades
- Fall protection and safety equipment development
- Patented product innovation/li>
- Manufacturing leadership/li>
Selected patents
- U.S. Patent No. 8,240,431 — Apparatus for Arresting a Fall
- U.S. Patent No. 10,538,929 — Automated Safety Rail System
- U.S. Patent No. 11,608,650 — Railing System
Steven J. Hammond
Chief Operating Officer, Leading Edge Safety
Building the people, processes, and systems behind the customer
experience.
Steven “Steve” Hammond leads operations at Leading Edge Safety with a focus on what customers need from the
company: urgency, practical problem-solving, and follow-through.
His daily work centers on people, processes, and systems. He helps ensure team members have the training, tools, and support they need to do their jobs well, while continuously evaluating how the company can operate more effectively. When a process creates friction for employees or customers, Steve focuses on understanding the problem and making meaningful improvements.
As a co-creator and steward of Leading Edge Safety’s core values—Safety, Integrity, Customer Experience, and Operational Excellence—Steve works to put those principles into everyday practice. Delivering on customer promises is central to that effort.
Steve also champions a data-informed approach to improvement, considering how decisions affect customers, employees, and other stakeholders. He pairs that focus with a belief in recognizing people’s contributions and building a positive, engaged team.
His goal is straightforward: strengthen the organization behind the equipment so customers receive dependable support throughout their experience.
Areas of focus
- Customer experience and follow-through
- Operational process improvement
- Team development and recognition
- Data-informed decision-making
Corbin Peters
Sales Associate, Leading
Edge Safety
Helping you move from product questions to informed purchasing
decisions.
Corbin Peters works with distributors, rental companies, contractors, and equipment users to support the selection and purchase of Leading Edge Safety products.
His responsibilities include managing customer relationships, preparing quotes, assisting with product selection and technical questions, and coordinating orders and lead times. From an initial inquiry through the sales process, Corbin helps customers find relevant information and understand the next steps.
His experience includes supporting large-scale fall protection, trench safety, and custom guardrail projects across the country. He has also helped develop relationships with major national rental and distribution partners.
For unique customer applications, Corbin works closely with engineering and manufacturing teams to communicate project needs and help explore potential solutions.
Corbin holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in construction management from the University of Central Missouri. He has also completed competent person fall protection training.
Outside of work, he enjoys spending time outdoors, traveling, and staying active.
Areas of focus
- Product selection support and technical questions
- Quotes, orders, and lead-time coordination
- Distributor and rental partner relationships
- Coordination on unique customer applications
Alan Wilkin
Assembly Operations Manager,
AES Manufacturing
Focused on the details between production and your delivery.
Alan Wilkin oversees the day-to-day operations of Assembly and Shipping at AES Manufacturing, the manufacturing operation behind Leading Edge Safety products. His responsibilities span assembly, inventory, quality control, production planning, order fulfillment, and shipping.
Alan joined AES in July 2014 as an assembler and moved into inventory management later that year. His responsibilities continued to grow across production, quality, personnel, and shipping, leading to his current role. That progression gives him firsthand knowledge of how products and materials move through the shop—and where careful coordination makes a difference.
Working closely with Fabrication, Sales, Engineering, and outside vendors, Alan focuses on keeping production organized and orders moving. He introduced more proactive shortage identification and weekly communication of fabrication needs to help reduce delays caused by missing components.
Alan also implemented customizable digital quality inspections to standardize final checks and help prevent incomplete or incorrect orders from leaving the facility. His improvement work extends to packaging, product protection, and assembly efficiency.
With training in 5S and lean manufacturing, Alan brings a practical, continuous-improvement approach to operations. Outside of work, life as a dad and German Shepherd owner keeps him busy.
Areas of experience
- Assembly and manufacturing operations
- Inventory and production planning
- Quality control and process improvement
- Shipping, packaging, and order fulfillment
The Values Behind Our Work
Across Leading Edge Safety and AES Manufacturing, four core values guide how we develop products, support customers, and work together.
SAFETY
Keep the people our equipment is intended to protect at the center of our decisions.
INTEGRITY
Communicate honestly and take responsibility for our work and commitments.
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Listen carefully, respond with urgency, and help customers move forward.
OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE
Continually improve the processes and systems behind our products and service.
SAFETY
Keep the people our equipment is intended to protect at the center of our decisions.
INTEGRITY
Communicate honestly and take responsibility for our work and commitments.
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Listen carefully, respond with urgency, and help customers move forward.
OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE
Continually improve the processes and systems behind our products and service.
Talk With Our Team About Your Safety Equipment Needs
Have questions about equipment, a quote, or an upcoming project? Tell us about the work ahead. We’ll help you explore available options and connect you with relevant product information.
Contact Our Team
Explore Safety Equipment