May 15, 2006
VCT Celebrates 20 Years of Innovative Card Technology
Turnkey Solutions Offerings Hallmark of VCT
Downers Grove, IL, Versatile Card Technology, Inc. (VCT), the world’s leading manufacturer of plastic cards, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and credits its continued investment in technology as the reason it has prospered in a challenging and competitive industry.
“In 1990, the decision was made to grow our markets, and VCT applied to both VISA and MasterCard for certification to manufacture bank cards,” said Nicholas J. Cooney, President of VCT, a family-owned business headquartered in Downers Grove, Ill. This required a large investment in technology for magnetic stripe application, foil stamping of holograms and secure signature panels. The certification process also required acquiring and maintaining security standards mandated by VISA and Master Card.
“In 1991 we manufactured our first secured plastic card,” said Cooney. This while continuing to serve the company’s core direct mail accounts.
“We developed a marketing strategy unlike any other in our industry," said Cooney. “VCT offers turnkey solutions to our customers providing not only the plastic card but the personalization and distribution.”
VCT was strategically positioned to enter the gift card market in 1995. “Working with Wal-Mart, VCT designed the first package for large volume gift card programs and in the years that followed, we produced over a billion gift cards for major retailers throughout the country,” said Cooney.
VCT became an international company in 1992 when VCT Germany was established in Stuttgart to focus on the Western European market. In the years that followed, VCT opened offices in Brazil, Mexico, Turkey and Singapore. VCT located its second manufacturing plant in Chennai, India, with a 65,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility to service the Indian and South East Asian markets.
With the 2003 purchase of New Jersey based Qualteq, VCT became the largest producer of secured cards in the USA. Combined volume of all three manufacturing plants is in excess of 1.4 billion cards per year.
Industry leadership and innovation
VCT has become a leader in bringing chip card technology to the United States. This division has been producing chip cards for 8 years and has evolved with the technology to become EMV certified. EMV refers to specifications issued by EMVCo, LLC, covering the operation of smart card payment systems. EMVCo was formed by Europay International, Master Card International and Visa International to manage, maintain and enhance EMV Integrated Circuit Card Specifications for Payment Systems as technology advances and the implementation of chip card programs become more prevalent.
“We are working with our client banks on implementing radio frequency identification (RFID) technology into their markets.” Currently most SMART cards (EMV) have a contact area on the front face of the card to interface with a payment terminal. RFID EMV cards do not have a contact area but instead an embedded inductive loop aerial, which allows them to work in proximity to a contacless card reader without making physical contact. RFID technology is currently used for security cards and mass transit operations.
VCT has adapted ISO standards for all of its plants. “We have made the investment in manpower and equipment to provide new technology required in today’s complex marketplace,” said Cooney. ”The company’s 20th anniversary is a milepost into the future. We will continue to expand into international markets using our already strategically placed offices, and we will invest in whatever technology is required to maintain and grow in the global market. Our goal is to make Versatile Card Technology, Inc the company that people think of when they need new and innovative products and thinking,” he said.
CONTACT:
Anu Veluchamy
Vice President
VCT
+1 (630) 852-5600
About Versatile Card Technology, Inc. As a globally recognized leader, and the largest American manufacturer of plastic cards, Versatile Card Technology produces cards for every application and offers complete fulfillment services and turnkey solutions. Facilities are located in Turkey, Germany, Mexico, Singapore, South America and India. The Visa/MasterCard state of the art facility in Chennai, India, has helped increase VCT's customer focus throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. VCT's recent innovation of the Visa Minicard adds to their long list of engineering accomplishments. VCT has increased its card capacity to produce over one billion cards per year. VCT is a certified manufacturer of Visa and MasterCard and produces a wide variety of products including, loyalty, membership, gift cards, SmartCards, access control and contactless cards.
