Orell Füssli – Combining Trust and Technology in an Increasingly Digital World

In the February issue of Currency News™, we ran an interview with Wolfram Seidemann of Giesecke+Devrient on how the company is navigating the digital transformation in money. But G+D is not the only banknote solutions provider diving into the digital world. Orell Füssli, with a legacy spanning more than 500 years, is also firmly established as a leader in high security printing. And, like G+D, it is expanding its expertise to include digital security solutions as well.

Currency News™ spoke to Michael Kasch, Managing Director of Orell Füssli Security Printing (OFS), who detailed the company’s expansion into digital solutions, and how banknote printers are well-placed to lead the charge by coupling digital technology with the all-important trust factor.

Q: First, could you tell us a little about your background.

A: My background is in chemistry, which continues to help me today in understanding difficult or complex technical products, processes and services. I started in the 1990s developing optically variable pigments for Wacker Chemie, which turned out to be very useful as anti-copying materials. The company first began developing inks with G+D, with this growing sector coming to the attention of the rest of the industry, including SICPA. They subsequently purchased the business, and me with it.