(Tampere, June 16, 2009) – UPM Raflatac and Hansaprint are pleased to announce a new partnership agreement that specifically targets the development of NFC/RFID market opportunities. As one part of the co-operation in the agreement, UPM Raflatac and Hansaprint will offer a new solution that provides an easy creation of low volume customised NFC tags and labels via an online service.
Both companies regard the emerging NFC market as a lucrative and promising opportunity due to NFC technology’s capability to create intuitive and easy-to-use services and marketing possibilities for consumers and businesses.
“We are very enthusiastic to collaborate with Hansaprint and believe that both companies will benefit from this partnership. UPM Raflatac is the leading producer of HF and UHF tags and inlays and has a strong focus on the NFC market. Hansaprint is the leading printing services provider in the Nordic countries. Thanks to the digital printing technique, Hansaprint is able to provide both high and low volumes of individually customised NFC products,” says Samuli Strömberg, Vice President, Marketing, UPM Raflatac, RFID.
“We keenly and optimistically look forward to the possibilities in the NFC market. By combining UPM Raflatac’s and Hansaprint’s expertise and knowledge in tag manufacturing and print services we can jointly offer something really new and exciting for the NFC market in the very near future,” acknowledges Jukka Saariluoma, Development Director, Hansaprint.
Near-field Communication (NFC) is a very short-range radio communication technology. NFC technology offers people an efficient and easy way of handling several every day affairs. Applications enabled by NFC are for example contactless transactions for payment and transit ticketing, access to online content and simple data transfer.
About UPM Raflatac
UPM Raflatac, part of UPM’s Engineered Materials business group, is one of the world’s leading suppliers of self-adhesive label materials and the world’s number one producer of HF and UHF radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and inlays. UPM Raflatac has a global service network consisting of 14 factories on five continents and a broad network of sales offices and slitting and distribution terminals worldwide. UPM Raflatac employs 2,600 people and made sales of approximately EUR 1 billion (USD 1.4 billion) in 2008. Further information is available at www.upmraflatac.com.
About Hansaprint
Hansaprint is the leading printing house in the Nordic countries and the leading service company in the Baltic region specialising in comprehensive marketing communications solutions. The company concentrates on the development of printing and logistics services and e-media solutions supporting these services. Hansaprint’s main operations are located in South-Western Finland. Hansaprint has subsidiaries and partners in all Nordic countries as well as in Western Europe, Russia and Hungary. The turnover of Hansaprint Group was €186 million in 2008. Further information is available at www.hansaprint.com.
