SINGAPORE, June 12, 2007 -- On May 31, FCI acquired Smartag, a specialized player in RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags manufacturing. This acquisition will allow the group to strengthen its RFID offer in a very dynamic market.
Trierenberg Holding AG and Delfortgroup AG, the former owners, were advised by Société Générale Corporate and Investment Banking on the disposal of Smartag, while HSBC advised FCI.
Located in Singapore, Smartag develops RFID tags for focused applications such as library management, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, etc.
FCI is already a reference supplier of RFID antennas. With Smartag, the group will better serve its customers by offering solutions from antennas design to tag manufacturing for certain high engineering assets tracking applications.
The new entity, FCI Smartag, will be positioned as a leader on promising market niches.
"Our plan is to bring them full technical and operating support. They have shown significant growth in the past year, and in the coming years we want to boost this growth by leveraging their synergy with FCI," points out Jérôme Duhirel, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of FCI Microconnections Division.
"Smartag already covers the USA, Europe and Asia. By joining FCI, we are now in a position to accelerate the development of our business and to reinforce our international presence," adds Tiang Siong Lian, Smartag General Manager.
With operations in 30 countries and sales of 1.3 billion euros in 2006, FCI is a leading manufacturer of connectors. Our 13,500 employees are committed to providing customers with high-quality, innovative products for a wide range of consumer and industrial applications.
Smartag is a leading producer of HF and UHF RFID inlays and smart tags. The company is specialized in the production of customized and form adapted inlays used for labeling high value and security relevant goods.
###
