French-U.S. partnership looks for manufacturing site
A joint venture between WS Packaging Group of Green Bay, Wisc., and the French RFID developer ASK is shopping for a site in the U.S. to manufacture its RFID inlays, the ASK-intTAg. The inlay is a silver-based and printed on paper, and is touted by the partnership to be highly resistant to counterfeiting.
The $5.8 million project could bring up to 115 new jobs to the area selected for the plant. A number of sites are under consideration, with the town of Heath, Ohio, being mentioned prominently. The state of Ohio has approved a tax credit to help lure the project.
The inlays would be produced for a number of applications, including secure identification, mass transit and bank cards. The ASK-IntTag would function as a separate company, and would be the first to produce inlays through this process in the U.S.
“The importance of having a secure U.S.-based manufacturing operation for contactless cards and tickets is imperative if the full promise of RFID technology and its deployment is to be realized,” says Terry Fulwiler, CEO of WS Packaging. “This is especially vital for such applications as secure identification and financial bankcards.“
A site will be decided on in early 2009. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/contactlessnews-4.gif)
