News in Brief

More Business for Meta

Meta Materials (META), owner of Nanotech Security Corporation, has announced that it has been awarded $4.3 million in purchase orders for the nano-optic security business, which provides security features including its flagship KolourOptik® technology for banknotes and other secure documents.

META has been executing an agreement with a maximum value of $41.5 million over a period of up to five years with a G10 central bank customer. The new purchase orders represent a base award for continued work under the multi-year agreement. The customer may elect to increase the scope of the base award with additional purchase orders.

‘META is committed to being a global leader in banknote security technology. Our nano-optic technology addresses a growing, multi-billion-dollar problem by delivering next generation solutions that can be applied to protect banknotes and government documents,’ said George Palikaras, President and CEO. ‘We are proud that our key customer continues to validate our progress with additional funding, and we are committed to continuing to advance the program.’ 

Crane Launches New Site for Paper

Crane Currency has launched a new micro-site to promote the benefits of paper money versus the alternatives – factsaboutpapermoney.com.

According to the website, ‘almost all banknotes in circulation today are made of durable paper created from a blend of material such as cotton and linen. Some countries have experimented with making money out of plastic, but there are four key facts for why this hasn’t really taken off.’ Those facts, or reasons, are:

• Security – paper allows you to use more sophisticated technologies, in a greater number, to prevent counterfeiting.

• Durability – modern (paper) banknotes now last about three years longer than they used to.

• Sustainability – paper is a natural, renewable material, with the cotton used for banknotes staring life as offcuts from the textile industry. At the end of their life, paper banknotes can be recycled and composted.

• Cost – paper costs less than the alternatives. Although polymer notes last longer, they cost more initially, and these extra costs are rarely offset. Added to which, alternatives involve investment in new equipment for handling notes, putting an extra burden on cash infrastructure costs.

Hence, the website says’ now that more money is being printed than ever before, its cotton-based paper should the natural choice for your money.’

Portals to Sell Paper Assets

Further to the announcement that Portals’ paper business will gradually withdraw from the banknote market with the closure of the Overton Mill, it has begun the process of selling assets and materials.

According to the company, Overton has had significant investment, with over £50 million spent over the last 10 years and £25 million since 2018 alone. As a result, there are some significant, high value assets which may be of interest.

They include full a full cotton comber preparation plant and high speed pulping line, four banknote paper machines (one of which was upgraded in 2020 at a cost of £15 million) with a combined capacity of 70 tonnes per day, two foiling units and two gravure coaters, a rewinder and two paper converting lines, a packing line, an autonomous additives plant, filer system, a laboratory with over 100 pieces of equipment, a system for fibre analysis, a power station and HVAC plant, expanding mould cylinders and two vaults.

A separate process involves the sale of high value specialist spares.

An auction will be held later in the year. The full asset list can be found at www.portalspaper.com.

Komori Consolidates Parts Supply

Komori Corporation has announced that the Komori Global Parts Center has been relocated to the Tsukuba Plant site to ensure a more stable parts supply in Japan and overseas.

Other advantages of the relocation include effective use of space and securing of parts by installing large movable racks, and well as improved inventory management accuracy through the introduction of a real-time visualisation system for domestic and overseas inventory. It will also enable shortened lead times, prompter delivery by both land and air transport, and shorter parts dispatch time by introducing a warehouse management system and optimising movement lines.

The parts centre was previously located at the Sekiyado plant, but Komori has progressively been consolidating all its machinery production into one super-site at Tsukuba.

Successful First Half for Spectra Systems

Spectra Systems reported revenue for its first half year of $9.26 million, a 15% improvement over $8 million in the same period last year. Adjusted operating profit (EBITDA) increased by 8% to $3.2 million, and profit before tax (PBTA) also increased by 8% to $3.67 million, a ratio of profit to sales of 39.6%.

The company also commented on new sensor business totalling $14.4 million from a long-standing central bank customer and will deliver the first order for sensors around late 2024. The total value of units to be delivered is likely to be approximately $50 million, including additional ongoing service revenues.

Additionally, it has initiated a program with a central bank customer to shore up the supply chain for taggants by manufacturing in-house a previously commercially sourced chemical. It also sold its first banknote disinfection machine to an Asian central bank to counter the possibility of COVID infection from banknotes.

G+D Unveils New Solution to Protect Brands

It is widely accepted that sales losses due to counterfeiting and product and brand piracy equate to billions of dollars across all industries, which is why Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) has developed a new authentication solution, SIGN®, that uses its micro-optics technology to provide simple and rapid product authentication.

Based on what it terms innovative, micro-optical technology with dynamic effects that change according to the viewing angle and developed using its special software, SIGN is applied directly to packaging with high precision embossing tools, doing away with specially printed labels.

Removing the need for offline manufacture and application of labels helps to reduce cost and materials usage and, says G+D, aligns strongly with its commitment to ecological and socially sustainable development.

SIGN is based on established G+D technology that has long provided protection against counterfeiting of banknotes.

SIGN can also be combined with another G+D feature, MOVE™ (Micro Oriented Variable Effect) to create additional dynamic effects, bold colours, and relief-style embossing.