A new company called ASK-intTAG will begin to manufacture electronically enhanced identification cards at the IBM facility in Essex Junction as early as this summer. A joint venture of ASK SA from France and WS Packaging from Green Bay, WI, the new company will compete in the growing market for enhanced driver s licenses, passports and other secure forms of identification. ASK already produces such products for the US market in France. It uses imbedded computer chips and tiny antennas for the radio transmission technology. WS offers the new firm large scale manufacturing capabilities.
ASK intTAG General Manager Thierry Burgess said the $553,000 in tax incentives that the state of Vermont made through its VEGI program was a major contributor to siting the facility in Vermont rather than in another US location. He said Ohio made a significant proposal as well. He also said that the company already has had successful relationships with IBM, though in this case IBM only will be acting as a landlord in this undertaking, at least initially. ASK will take up 15,000 square feet of existing space at the IBM plant. He said the quality of IBM s already permitted and secure facility, along with the quality of available workforce, also were factors in site selection. The state is also contributing $120,000 in workforce training as part of the incentive package.
The company s $6 million initial investment in the new venture will include purchase of capital equipment, which is due to arrive by the end of April, and the hiring of 15 people. Manufacturing is expected to get started this summer. The company expects employment will reach 90 workers within three years.
Having a US facility is important, Burgess said, because passports and licenses are government products, even though their production is not required to be on US soil at least not yet, he added. The antennas, he said, are printed on paper or plastic or similar substrates, the chips are then placed and sealed to make the cards, which look,for instance, just like any driver s license.
Governor Douglas, who emceed the announcement at the IBM facility Wednesday afternoon, said, This is a company with tremendous market potential. He said the synergies this type of company offered plays into the entire economic development strategy of the state.
This is really part of our high-tech future.
FULL PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY WS PACKAGING (4/1/2009):
ASK-intTag LLC Selects IBM Facility in Vermont for Manufacturing Site
Will be the first contactless card manufacturer in the U.S. to print silver-based antennas on inlays
Green Bay, Wis., April 1, 2009: ASK-intTag® LLC has signed an agreement to lease space at an IBM facility in Essex Junction, Vt. The company will occupy approximately 15,000 square feet of a separate and secured space at the IBM site to produce contactless inlays for a range of markets involving secure identification, including mass transit, bankcards, food, healthcare, gaming, and event ticketing.
The company will be the first contactless inlay manufacturer in the U.S. to print silver-based antennas on inlays, the composition of which is highly resistant to forgery.
³The importance of having a secure U.S.-based manufacturing operation for contactless cards and tickets is imperative if the full promise of RFID technology and its deployment is to be realized,² said Terry Fulwiler, WS Packaging Group chief executive officer. ³This is especially vital for such applications as secure identification and financial bankcards.²
ASK-intTag is a U.S.-based joint venture that combines the technology and manufacturing capabilities of ASK, a France-based RFID manufacturer, and WS Packaging Group Inc., a prominent U.S. label converter. The joint venture was formed in December 2008.
³We have worked closely with the Vermont Department of Economic Development, the Vermont Economic Progress Council and the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation to make this vision a reality and we greatly appreciate their cooperation,² said Thierry Burgess, ASK-intTag general manager. ³This project will occur in Vermont because of an incentive package, including Vermont Employment Growth Incentives (VEGI) and Vermont Training Program funds, which will be finalized soon. These were extremely important factors in making our decision.²
About ASK-intTag
ASK-intTag is a U.S.-based joint venture between RFID expert ASK and prominent label converter WS Packaging Group.
ASK is headquartered in Sophia-Antipolis, France, with a wholly owned subsidiary in Singapore and a joint venture in China. The viability of ASK¹s technology is confirmed by the 54 patents it holds, and is further strengthened by a unique and environmentally friendly technology for printing a silver antenna on paper substrate and die chip attach process.
More than 130 million users on all five continents have been served so far in transportation, banking, RFID and identity sectors.
Contactless cards and tickets developed by ASK are already being used in transportation networks in several large U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Atlanta, Minneapolis and Philadelphia and will now be served by ASK-intTag.
WS Packaging Group is headquartered in Green Bay, Wis., has more than 40 years of experience and is one of the largest printing and label converting operations in North America. It operates 17 manufacturing facilities and produces packaging products for customers ranging in size from small businesses to large, high-volume manufacturers and consumer product goods companies doing business locally, nationally, and in marketplaces worldwide.
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