Latest News

Francis Tuffy

23 Dec. 2025

7 min read

30 Years of Doing the Right Thing: KURZ Marks Three Decades of Security-Foil Production at Sulzbach-Rosenberg

When LEONHARD KURZ GmbH & Co KG (KURZ) opened its optical film facility in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, few could have predicted how profoundly it would shape the global security feature industry. To this day, the site remains one of the company’s strategic production centres — and an example of industrial renewal, where a region built on coal and steel turned to optics and precision engineering.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

23 Dec. 2025

2 min read

Investing in Cash Production

Below are some of the central banks, printworks, and substrate makers that have either recently concluded major investments in expansion or new facilities, are in the process, or planning to do so.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

23 Dec. 2025

2 min read

Increased Demand for Coins in Australia, But No Banknotes

The Royal Australian Mint (RAM), which celebrated its 60th anniversary this year, sent over 131 million circulating coins with a face value of A$75.37 million into the Australian economy during FY 2024/25, nearly three times the 47.7 million coins issued the previous year.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

23 Dec. 2025

2 min read

Cash Security Leaders Join Forces

Following a Letter of Intent signed in July, Oberthur Cash Protection and Feerica have completed their strategic merger, forming Oberthur Feerica. This follows the acquisition of Feerica from its owner, the holding company Zelosodisseia, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

28 Nov. 2025

2 min read

New Metallisation Facility a Leap Forward in Throughput and Energy Saving

Hueck Folien – specialists in applied security features and threads for banknotes – has successfully commissioned a new high-vacuum vapour deposition facility at its headquarters in Baumgartenberg, Austria. The €8.6 million investment, announced in September 2024, includes both a new metallisation system and associated infrastructure upgrades, and marks a major advance in the company’s production of high-performance coatings for the security sector.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

28 Nov. 2025

2 min read

SICPA Supports Mine-to-Market Visibility

SICPA leveraged its security ink and traceability expertise to launch BullionProtect® in 2020, designed to prevent counterfeit gold bars being mistaken for genuine ones. Jointly developed with refiner and coating specialist Metalor Technologies, in line with LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) guidance, the integrated solution comprises a security image applied directly to the bar and bespoke validation devices.

Companies

Francis Tuffy

11 Nov. 2025

2 min read

Hueck Folien Opens New Metallisation Facility in Austria

Hueck Folien has successfully commissioned a new high-vacuum vapour deposition facility at its headquarters in Baumgartenberg, Austria. The €8.6 million investment, announced in September 2024, includes both a new metallisation system and associated infrastructure upgrades, and marks a major advance in the company’s production of high-performance coatings for the security sector.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

31 Oct. 2025

2 min read

Authentix and KURZ Join Forces to Deliver QUANTUM stripe™ at Scale

Authentix, a pioneer in nano-optic security technologies, has signed a Cooperation and License Agreement with LEONHARD KURZ, one of the world’s largest advanced high security feature manufacturing companies, uniting the former’s breakthrough innovation with the latter’s world-class production capacity.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

31 Oct. 2025

5 min read

Half Year Results Positive for Most Companies in the Industry

In so much as company results provide a bellwether for the state of the industry as a whole, our industry appears to be in good health judging by the half year results of some of the publicly-listed market leaders, which were – for the most part – gratifyingly positive.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

1 Oct. 2025

3 min read

Losses Soar in Challenging Year for UK Mint

In her Chief Executive’s Report for 2024-25, the Royal Mint’s Anne Jessopp reported an after-tax loss of £36.3 million, compared with a loss of £4.3 million in 2023-24, on sales of £1.3 billion (2023- 24 – £1.4 billion). In something of an understatement, she noted it had been a challenging year and the result disappointing.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

1 Oct. 2025

5 min read

A Snapshot of Three Topics – Data, Quality and Louisenthal

At Giesecke+Devrient’s July Currency Technology Symposium it ran nine different workshops and a half day at Papierfabrik Louisenthal (see CN July 2025). Three are covered here.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

1 Oct. 2025

1 min read

A Celebration of 30 Years of Superior Foils for Banknotes

At the end of July, KURZ Banknote Security celebrated 30 years of security production at the Sulzbach-Rosenberg site in Germany with a two day customer event.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

24 July 2025

3 min read

Building a Better World, One Banknote at a Time

Oberthur Fiduciaire was early to the environmental protection movement, having put in place its Earth365 strategy over 15 years ago, long before sustainability catapulted to the top of the cash industry’s agenda. The Earth365 strategy has provided a roadmap for everything the company does to minimise its impact, and that of its products, on the environment and, says the company, is now embedded in its corporate DNA.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

2 July 2025

2 min read

Continuity Plus Confidence for De La Rue as it Moves to Private Ownership

As Currency News™ went to press, we learnt that the sale of De La Rue PLC to Atlas Holdings for £263 million – announced in April – has now completed. De La Rue will delist from the London Stock Exchange on 3 July and, shortly thereafter, re-register as a Private Limited Company.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

2 July 2025

5 min read

News in Brief

Hueck Folien and IQ Structures, two leaders in banknote security features, have announced a strengthened partnership that builds on the success of their Nanovista™ venture, following what they describe as an overwhelmingly positive market response to their joint efforts.

Companies News

Astrid Mitchell

2 July 2025

2 min read

Glory Sales Fall Back After New Issue Surge

In April last year, Glory – providers of cash management and automation systems – launched its 2026 Medium Term Management Plan, a three year business transformation project designed to help drive customers’ own digital transformation with best-in-class products and software platforms.

Companies

2 July 2025

2 min read

Continuity Plus Confidence for De La Rue as it Moves to Private Ownership

As Currency News™ went to press, we learnt that the sale of De La Rue PLC to Atlas Holdings for £263 million – announced in April – has now completed. De La Rue will delist from the London Stock Exchange and re-register as a Private Limited Company.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

21 May 2025

2 min read

Be Smart with BeeSmart

In keeping with our apiology theme (ie. the study of bees), one company that is using the stripey stingers to support a major financial literacy initiative is Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions, who presented the BeeSmart educational platform at the recent HSP EMEA conference in Basel.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

1 May 2025

5 min read

News In Brief

Tuvalu is home to 11,000 people and now, for the first time, five ATMs as well, thereby opening up electronic banking for the tiny Pacific island’s inhabitants.

Cash Handling Coins Companies

Astrid Mitchell

1 May 2025

2 min read

Sensors and Polymer Fuel Spectra Growth

Spectra Systems reported a strong performance for fiscal year 2024, which for the first time included the financial results for Cartor Security Printers (CSP), which it acquired in December 2023.

Companies