Can you tell us a little about your company?

The Bundesdruckerei Group stands for more than 250 years of German history. The Group has a history that dates as far back as to the 18th century.

Since 1763, Bundesdruckerei has been working on behalf of the state to print and produce ID cards, passports, banknotes, high-quality security features and digital solutions. The company’s headquarters and banknote production facilities are located at the very heart of Berlin, at a place where history meets innovation.

From its early days as the Royal Prussian State Printing Works, Bundesdruckerei has gone on to print the D-Mark and both denominations of the euro, including security features.

As a German-based company with a strong reputation as the government’s security company, the Group’s value printing department and its team are expanding, bringing its products and services ‘made in Germany’ to international markets.

What was/is your biggest challenge selling your products and services in times of COVID-19?

While navigating the uncharted waters of the global coronavirus pandemic, we had to ensure that production kept going to meet market demands while at the same time safeguarding the health and safety of our employees.

The restrictions on global travel have also affected how we interact with our partners. The virtualisation of meetings, for instance, is a considerable challenge, but we are lucky to be living in a time in which digital technology can deliver the needed solutions.

Do you think your market has changed in the past year, and if so how?

The past year has impacted how we live, travel and interact with each other. Industries across the board have been affected, forcing them to rethink their business model.

Markets always change, but the most important factor is to not only to keep pace with the times, but also to foster a future-oriented mindset in order to align the company’s strategy to its vision.

In other words, always asking ourselves: what’s next and how we can prepare for it?

You will be exhibiting at Intergraf Currency+Identity Online (24-26 March 2021). What can participants look forward to seeing on your virtual exhibition space?

Bundesdruckerei, a fully state-owned security company, will shine a light on the world of our group and its products ‘made in Germany’.

We have been investing in new digital technologies for more than a decade and even accelerated the speed of its R&D during the pandemic.

Additional know-how has been won through mergers and acquisitions, and research and development has been expanded considerably. Our team will be more than happy to provide an insight into the portfolio of this diversified company.

Can you tell us a little about your company?

Yes, we already know each other so well, so some key points only. Giesecke+Devrient is an international Group headquartered in Munich, providing security technology in four key areas: payment, connectivity, identities and digital infrastructure. Innovations by G+D make the lives of billions of people in the digital and analogue world more secure.

Here at Intergraf Currency+Identity we are represented with our comprehensive security solutions for secure public currency, both cash and digital form from G+D Currency Technology, as well as ID solutions from Veridos, safeguarding Identities and authentication of persons and their interface with regulatory controls.

Furthermore, solutions for the protection of digital infrastructure systems, networks and confidential data from secunet are of relevance in an increasingly virtual world.

With regard to the pandemic G+D has overcome this challenging time quite successfully – so far.

From the beginning it has been our highest objective to safeguard our people, and be perceived as the trusted partner by our customers. We achieved this by implementing immediately preventative actions and rigid measures in order to keep our critical businesses and operations running.

Adaptability, agility and effective digital communication platforms supported us to maintain our touchpoints internally, and with our customers, partners and suppliers.

What was/is your biggest challenge selling your products and services in times of COVID-19?

In the business sectors where we could deliver products, like banknotes, ID documents or banknote processing systems, we were able to draw on our own resources and were able to supply continuously.

Large system installation at customers’ sites as well as some logistic services like airfreight have proven to be challenging at times. Particularly the implementation of our major projects abroad still pose a great challenge, as travel is essential.

However, the trustful partnerships with many customers and suppliers built over many years have helped us tremendously to overcome bottleneck situations.

Our worldwide service network and the co-operation with our customers allowed us to keep our local services operational.

Despite the very efficient means of virtual work, we are missing the personal human meet with partners, and look forward to being able to travel again soon.

Do you think your market has changed in the past year, and if so how?

Yes and no. In the event of crisis, the world often turns to cash, and we quickly realised a high demand from issuers. And we are confident that cash will continue to play an important role in the world long after COVID-19.

But also as a contrast, the contact restrictions during the pandemic boosted demand for advanced IT security solutions and e-government solutions. This pandemic has also initiated an accelerated implementation of respective projects which will bring IT based services onto a new level.

You will be exhibiting at Intergraf Currency+Identity Online (24-26 March 2021). What can participants look forward to seeing on your virtual exhibition space?

G+D is representing some inspiring topics:

- Two “Innovation Tracks” – one from G+D and one from Veridos.

- Together with our print works customer Banco de México, and Orell Füssli, we will offer a roundtable session entitled Driving efficiency via Banknote Note Inspection.

In their presentation our colleagues from secunet will talk about the cryptography’s role in protecting digital identity and identity documents, and last but not least:

- a roundtable of experts will focus on the question of whether privacy is possible with CBDC.

All themes will, of course, also be displayed on our virtual booth and I am sure there will be an interesting topic for every participant.

Can you tell us a little about your company?

HUECK FOLIEN has been lending identity to the products of its customers since 1970. The experience thus gathered with regard to the coating of web materials together with the in-house developed, top technologies, form the basis of our current success and have made the company a coating specialist that is in worldwide demand.

The independent, family-owned company has concentrated upon the development and production of high security features for banknotes and documents as well as on film coatings for technical applications.

In the exclusive high-security market, HUECK FOLIEN is the respected partner of security paper mills, security printers, central banks and public authorities. As an independent manufacturer of security threads, stripes and laminates, the company offers a diversity of solutions for the protection of the originality of banknotes, securities and documents. Our security features are well known for their brilliant appearance and top chemical and physical resistance throughout a long service life.

What was/is your biggest challenge selling your products and services in times of COVID-19 ?

In the beginning of the pandemic in March/April 2020 the shortage of solvents due to the fulminant demand of desinfectants and the following price increase of solvents was the biggest challenge. Moreover transport logistics due to less flight capacities was and still is a challenge.

Do you think your market has changed in the past year, and if so how?

Compared to other markets the change was minor. In some countries the demand of banknotes went up in some others down. We do not see significant changes for security documents. Due to the pandemic some Central banks had to change their annual plannings for the denominations. So we had to react with more flexibility for our customers.

You will be exhibiting at Intergraf Currency+Identity Online (24-26 March 2021). What can participants look forward to seeing on your virtual exhibition space?

At Intergraf Currency+Identity Online we will be happy to guide you through our product range and show you some new highlights - in proven HUECK FOLIEN quality. The targeted combination of manufacturing technologies and selected security components gives our products a brilliant appearance and the highest chemical and physical resistance over a long service life. Look forward to many new inputs!

In addition, we look forward to meeting you online and exchanging ideas with you!

Can you tell us a little about your company?

IAI industrial systems B.V. has been at the forefront of secure document personalisation for more than 20 years, providing unique and advanced systems for governmental document issuance. Over 35 countries have put their trust on us for personalizing and securing their documents.

As result of our extensive knowledge and proven performance, IAI has gained an excellent reputation for the design and supply of personalization systems where laser and inkjet technologies together, with precision mechanics and control software, play key roles.

IAI’s portfolio comprises of high and medium volume personalization systems next to desktop systems.

What was/is your biggest challenge selling your products and services in times of COVID-19 ?

COVID-19 had and still has a substantial impact on the secure document industry. Therefore, the issuance of certain documents has been going down and several projects have been postponed.

Projects are experiencing challenges continuously; for instance travel restrictions, which are requiring extraordinary measures in order to make the projects move forward.

Travel restrictions also influenced business development and in most cases, customer contact was and still is limited to video conference.

Do you think your market has changed in the past year, and if so how?

The new ID and passport projects have been postponed due to COVID-19 and we believe that the impact on the secure document industry is temporary and will take some time for the market to recover.

You will be exhibiting at Intergraf Currency+Identity Online (24-26 March 2021). What can participants look forward to seeing on your virtual exhibition space?

IAI is a proactive and innovative company. We will be delighted to show the participants IAI’s latest innovations and discuss the business trends and market needs with them.

Can you tell us a little about your company?

Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions is a unique partner for the high security printing community through the breadth of solutions we offer from design services to pre-press and printing technologies including logistics solutions or cash cycle expertise. We have continuously driven innovation to make banknote production always more efficient, environmentally friendly and secure. Our ultimate objective is to support the longevity of cash as the most secure, robust and sustainable means of payment around the world.

What was/is your biggest challenge selling your products and services in times of COVID-19 ?

At Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions we believe in partnership and partnership requires presence. Of course the travel restrictions have prevented us from being as present as we wanted to. However, in our mindset “there is no problems, only solutions!” This is why we have set up new tools and means of working in order to support our customers in the best possible way such as VPN support, WebTraining or making Banknote Horizons a virtual, yet personalized event. And we monitor the situation daily to evaluate feasibility for our experts to travel to customers’ site.

Do you think your market has changed in the past year, and if so how?

No, not fundamentally. If we could fear that the false discussions around cash and COVID could harm its usage, we have observed that it also brought cash and its unique attributes to light with an increase of cash in circulation at a global scale. So cash will remain and so will the need for solutions and services to produce it. The main change is probably around remote services, as mentioned just before. We have to be able to support our customers at any time. New technologies can greatly help as well as being more local, which we have also started to do with the implementation of our local hubs in Latin America and South East Asia.

You will be exhibiting at Intergraf Currency+Identity Online (24-26 March 2021). What can participants look forward to seeing on your virtual exhibition space?

2020 and 2021 have been filled with new solutions and innovations from us that we are excited to be able to introduce to our customers. This goes from new security features such as SPARK® Flow to LED curing including a brand new range of logistics solutions. Last but not least we have launched our SOI evo press, based on the proven Super Orlof Intaglio III that we have streamlined to keep the core of the Intaglio process. We then built it as a modular system that can evolve to fit each and everyone needs, with packs allowing to enhance the machine performance in terms of security, efficiency or environmental footprint.

Can you tell us a little about your company?

KURZ is a 5th-generation, family-owned company established over 120 years ago. From its beginnings as a gold foil producer, it developed into the world's leading manufacturer of superior transfer products including premium security solutions for banknotes. The KURZ Group, with over 5,500 employees, has over 30 sites worldwide and manufactures under standardized quality and environmental standards. Foils for banknotes are exclusively produced at our central bank-approved high security manufacturing site in Germany. Together with our subsidiary OVD Kinegram based in Switzerland, we have successfully created foil security devices for more than 300 different banknotes across over 80 countries, in cooperation with all major banknote paper suppliers and printers.

What was/is your biggest challenge selling your products and services in times of COVID-19 ?

First of all, we are missing the direct personal contact and interaction with our valued customers. But we adapted pretty quickly to the ‘new normal’ and of course we use every channel possible in order to stay in contact with our customers and possible leads. This means extensive use of social media, video platforms, webinars as well as more activity on our website.

Secondly, it is difficult to show security features with image change effects via video conference. We have ramped up our digital capacities to offer a comparable alternative, such as animations, not just for marketing but also for the approval process of real banknote designs. If you are interested in further details have a look at our customer magazine and read ‘Digital Design, Tangible Security (orofin.com)’.

Do you think your market has changed in the past year, and if so how?

Since the banknote market is a rather slowly changing market, it has not changed significantly in one year and was also not negatively affected by the pandemic. In some countries one could even observe a higher demand for banknotes which reflects the importance of cash especially in times of crisis.

We are also seeing trends towards a need for high-quality products and features, and a clear demand by central banks for independent suppliers to give them freedom of choice in the supply chain.

You will be exhibiting at Intergraf Currency+Identity Online (24-26 March 2021). What can participants look forward to seeing on your virtual exhibition space?

Following on from our successful webinar in 2020 we will of course focus on our new product line KURZ THREADS based on our various KINEGRAM® technologies. In addition we will showcase the latest innovations of the KINEGRAM® in general, and our solutions for Tax Stamps.

The Intergraf conference is a great platform to meet with the industry in these unusual times. We hope to make contact with existing and new customers and to exchange ideas about technologies, projects and technical solutions. Even in the online format we hope there will still be a chance for social contacts, which are an indispensable aspect of the security market with its basis in trust and understanding.

Can you tell us a little about your company?

OVD Kinegram is all about protecting identities. With around 240 highly knowledgeable people, we are devoted to physical and digital solutions for the protection and integrity of identities – both of individuals as well as of documents and other physical objects. Most notably, we provide security features based on our secret KINEGRAM technology.

A KURZ company based in Zug/Switzerland, we have been spearheading the industry for over 35 years, with more than 500 active projects (passports, ID cards, visa, driver licenses and more) in over 120 countries. KINEGRAM solutions in the EU Visa, the Spanish Passport, the US Green Card, the Taiwanese Passport are but a few of our important long-term references.

What was/is your biggest challenge selling your products and services in times of COVID-19 ?

The biggest challenge brought about by this pandemic was surely to cope simultaneously with both the sudden and sharp alterations in the short-term business for travel documents (PP, Visa), as well as the challenge to maintain a close relationship to our customers without being able to engage in physical meetings and conferences. Aside from that, we were confronted with multiple logistical challenges.

We were able to deal with all this very effectively by increasing the scope of digitization in our workflows on all levels, both internally and externally, and in a very short time frame. Very importantly, this allowed us to maintain a timely supply of products to our customers at all times during the pandemic. We have consistently used this crisis as a chance and expect to emerge from it stronger than before.

Do you think your market has changed in the past year, and if so how?

Yes, our relevant markets have certainly changed looking back just one year: international travel had been on the rise for a long time, with even higher forecasts for the years to come.

The major and sudden slump of worldwide travel with the start of the pandemic caused much lower needs for travel documents such as passports and visas, and consequently, lower demands for security features such as the KINEGRAM which protects many high-end travel documents.This in turn made 'non-travel related documents' all the more important for our short-term business.

Another change, respectively trend, in the market that was ongoing but accelerated by the pandemic was the shift towards digital products and services. In this regard, it is interesting to note that this does not mean a replacement of physical documents with digital counterparts, but instead, it refers to solutions which provide added value and functionality.

You will be exhibiting at Intergraf Currency+Identity Online (24-26 March 2021). What can participants look forward to seeing on your virtual exhibition space?

We are getting ready to showcase new exciting solutions for the protection of documents on our virtual exhibition space. To name just one example, our Full Data Protection (FDP) for polycarbonate data pages and polycarbonate cards is a feature well suited for both human inspection and optical machine authentication (OMA).

But it doesn’t stop there – going further into the digital realm, the solution is also compatible with optical phone authentication (OPA). OMA and OPA are novel functionalities of DOVIDs that are rapidly gaining importance and allow both the KINEGRAM and the documents to be prepared for new, contemporary use cases such as the Digital Travel Credential and e-KYC for remote customer onboarding.

And of course, we look forward to direct conversations and exchange with our customers in order to explain our solutions and discuss about specific projects.

Can you tell us a little about your company?

SICPA is a global provider of secured authentication, identification and traceability solutions and services. Founded in 1927 and headquartered in Switzerland, the company has a proven track record for trust-enabling technologies customised for governments, central banks, high-security printers and high-stakes industries.

SICPA specialises in continuous improvement and innovation across several domains: security inks, features and detection; integrated material-based and digital solutions; as well as cutting-edge digital technologies driving global socio-economic transformation.

What was/is your biggest challenge selling your products and services in times of COVID-19 ?

The pandemic brings disruptive dynamics and additional requirements in terms of work safety, regulatory compliance, client communication, deliveries and service support. The volatile situation demands a high degree of flexibility and responsiveness when person-to-person contact and on-site support is restricted. The information exchange between headquarters and regional hubs becomes particularly crucial for market updates and concerted development. Business growth has been achieved through optimised management of resources and supply chain.

SICPA has stepped up efforts and resources to strengthen communication with customers during COVID crisis. Our communication has been reinvented to provide immersive experience and interactive exchange with customers.

The launch of innovative technologies, notably SPARK® Flow, necessitates joint efforts of multidisciplinary teams – R&D, design, marketing and sales – to bring creative contents via a dedicated digital studio to targeted customers through various communication platforms.

Do you think your market has changed in the past year, and if so how?

While the fundamental needs for trust and economic-social cohesion remains unchanged, the pandemic has accelerated and amplified the security prerequisites of currency and identity to include the digital dimension: e-payments, e-bills, e-passport, e-visa, online transactions, digital cash, etc.

Identity risks and currency management must take into considerations both the physical and the digital states; a well-managed transition can be achieved through trust-enabling technologies whether they are material-based or digital driven.

More than ever, having the choices of physical and digital cash plays a crucial role in fostering an inclusive and progressive society at times of rapid transformation, particularly for the most vulnerable population.

In the coming years, digital identity management raises major challenges while unlocking new opportunities.

You will be exhibiting at Intergraf Currency+Identity Online (24-26 March 2021). What can participants look forward to seeing on your virtual exhibition space?

A comprehensive portfolio of trust-enabling technologies and solutions for currency lifecycle efficiency and identity protection will be presented in response to current and future challenges of our evolving society. The technological offerings include the latest optical innovations on SPARK® Flow for currency protection and OPALINE® for document security.

Design concepts and solutions dedicated to central bank digital currency, digital identity and document credentials will be presented to empower governments, central banks and other authorities in their decisions when addressing country-specific challenges of digital transformation in a responsible and accountable manner.