Confidex Supplies The EPC Gen2 Compliant RFID E-Seal In a Multi-Million Dollar Contract To Identify Returnable Transit Items

Tampere, Finland January 10th, 2011 Confidex, the leading supplier of specialty RFID Tags, announced that starting from today, its special UHF Gen2 RFID tags are being used in Container Centralen’s full scale RFID roll-out called “Operation Chip It!”. Confidex developed and delivered tags to IBM Denmark and this tag will be used as an electronic seal by Container Centralen A/S on its fleet of 3.5 million CC Containers. The new tag brings unprecedented transparency in the supply chain as well as improves overall quality of CC Container pool by reducing risk of counterfeit containers to be included into the pool.

Starting from January 10th, Confidex tags are identifying each and every 3.5 million CC Containers in the “Operation Chip It!”. “This is the largest UHF RFID tag implementation in RTI’s (Returnable Transit Items) worldwide and also the largest purchase order of EPC Gen2 specialty tags ever,” said Torbjörn Andersson, Vice President of Sales at Confidex. We are very pleased that IBM and Container Centralen selected Confidex and our unique tag design, which we were working on for over two years with Container Centralen as the lead customer.

”Confidex’s extensive work in the design and test of a tag specialized for Container Centralen’s specialized environment was the major reason for selecting Confidex as our tag supplier” says Mikael Erthmann, Executive Project Manager for Global Business Services at IBM. “Confidex has worked very closely with IBM throughout the project in order to manage all the different requirements and secure delivery of the tags for this large and challenging RFID project.”

By utilizing its patent pending tag design, Confidex developed an electronic RFID “e-seal” which can securely authenticate the origin of the CC Container and which meets the tough customer requirements. This anti-tampering feature was achieved without compromising the small tag size and the read performance requirements of the logistics operations.

To be effective such a high quantity of tags also had to be easy to attach, without additional tools, in any conditions. What’s more, the tag needed to be able to withstand extremely harsh use outdoors. The e-seals are identified and verified with RFID handheld devices, supplied by NordicID and others.

The CC Container − flower and pot plant trolley − is designed to meet the specific needs of the horticultural industry. Today it serves users from Sicily to Norway, as the acknowledged standard within the industry. Since the CC Container is also used as a retail display unit, the flowers and plants can be transported directly from the grower to the consumer in the store. By eliminating the need for product handling in between, goods are less likely to get damaged and overall distribution costs are reduced.

“The successful conclusion of this project is a great example what happens when key partners like IBM, NordicID and Confidex work together. By co-operating we’ve developed a unique total solution system for an incredibly demanding security RFID application,” said Jarkko Miettinen, Vice President of New Business Development at Confidex.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Torbjörn Andersson, Vice President of Sales

Mobile +46 768 530 130, torbjorn.andersson@confidex.net

CONFIDEX, headquartered in Tampere, Finland, is a fast growing company with unique expertise in Contactless Tickets and UHF RFID Tag design, high volume & high quality manufacturing and personalization. Confidex was selected as number 1 tag vendor in ABI research recent report. With offices in Europe, North America and China, Confidex has quickly become the trusted partner for System Integrators and end users of RFID technology. Confidex core competencies and experience span over antenna design and inlay manufacturing, converting and encapsulation and customer specific personalization. For more information, visit www.confidex.net

To learn more about Container Centralen and the “Operation Chip It!” visit: http://www.operation-chip-it.com/ and IBM www.ibm.com