IN Groupe Buys GSI

IN Groupe, owners of the optical features specialist SURYS, has agreed to buy 100% of the shares of Gleitsmann Security Inks from hubergroup Deutschland for an undisclosed consideration in cash.

This is the second acquisition in as many months for the French-headquartered state security printer and secured digital services specialist. Two months ago, it acquired the security components business of Portals, which was formerly known as Fabriano (see CN May 2023).

According to IN Groupe, the complementary nature of both companies will strengthen the group’s portfolio to meet the needs of governments and central banks in securing credentials and banknotes for both euro and export markets.

‘As a national printing company, it is part of (our) strategic plan to provide governments and administrations with security solutions for which IN Groupe masters the critical components, such as secure inks, and can thus develop the security of tomorrow for identity and banknotes’ said Didier Trutt, Chairman and CEO.

GSI was founded in 1847 and was acquired by the hubergroup in 1976. Its annual ink production capacity two years ago was approximately 2,500 tonnes, and it offers a full portfolio of high security inks, including intaglio, magnetic, dry and wet offset, luminescent (fluorescence and phosphorescence), IR, screen, colour shift and numbering (magnetic, IR and fluorescent) inks, as well as lacquers. 90% of its sales are for banknotes, and the other 10% for ID documents and tax stamps.

The company spends c. 15-20% of turnover on R&D – a recent result of which being the glairINK suite of infrared (IR) inks for intaglio and offset printing launched at this year’s Currency Conference (see CN May 2023).

The company has 80 employees and is expected to generate sales in the double-digit million euros this year. It will continue to operate as a company, keeping its name, staff and products but forming part of the Secured Components division of IN Groupe, led by Frederic Trojani, to whom its Managing Director Ulrich Walter will now report.