Goznak Buys Banknote Innovation Systems

Goznak has acquired Bank Innovation Systems (BIS), the Russian supplier of banknote inspection and processing equipment, in a deal signed at the start of June.

BIS was established in 2006 by the engineering team of BARS, manufacturers of banknote counters and sorters. It has continued to develop and manufacture currency processing equipment, along with vault, storage and destruction solutions, but its primary focus in recent years has been on the development of a range of banknote quality inspection systems, along with production control and monitoring (track and trace) solutions.

The company has customers in ten countries, but its main market is Russia and its principal customer is Goznak, for whose production sites it has been supplying quality control systems since 2011.

According to Goznak, BIS has unique competences and competitive advantages in the domestic market for hardware and software solutions that support security products (including banknotes) throughout their whole life cycle, starting with production and storage and ending with destruction.

The acquisition will enable Goznak to provide offline processes for its own printing equipment, doing away with the need to rely on foreign suppliers. It will also be seeking new domestic and international customer for BIS products.

Commenting on the acquisition, Arkady Trachuk, General Director of Goznak, said: ‘the deal is a logical continuation of the strong interrelations between Goznak and BIS that have been built during the past decade. Obtaining control over this company will allow us to diversify the range of offered solutions both in Russia and for foreign customers. We will now be able to offer both finished banknotes and a whole set of hardware and software accompanying circulation banknotes throughout their service life to our customers’.