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SICPA Participates in Tobacco Asia Expo in Hong Kong

SICPA
2007-02-07 15:14 5734

Highlights Added-Value Services to Tobacco Industry

HONG KONG, Feb. 7 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- SICPA ( www.sicpa.com ), a leading global provider of Product Security solutions, demonstrated its commitment to Asia's tobacco industry by participating in the recently-concluded 2007 Tobacco Asia Expo, held in Hong Kong from January 17-19, 2007.

Sharing best practices in product security technologies, SICPA showcased its SICPATRACE(*) Track & Trace system and authentication solutions -- the company's unique and complete secure solution for coding, verification, tracking and data management of products and documents of value. The technology brings value-added services to Governments and the tobacco industry through a secure and integrated authentication system and infrastructure program that helps deter illicit trade in tobacco.

The World Bank estimates that 355 billion cigarettes enter the illicit market each year, accounting for as much as 8.5 per cent of global consumption. Given the high incidence of counterfeiting and illicit trade in the region, SICPA's participation in Tobacco Asia Expo is both timely and relevant. SICPA delivers proven and effective technological solutions to governments and industry in their fight to eradicate illicit trade. SICPA's solutions operate in the State of California and Malaysia and are currently undergoing full deployment by the Government in Brazil. The Turkish Government officially announced the selection of SICPA to develop and implement a nationwide Track and Trace Solution covering the tobacco and alcohol industry in December, 2006. In Vietnam, the Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding in February 2006 with SICPA covering SICPATRACE technology. SICPATRACE, which also supports business processes, is used for tracking products from the moment they are manufactured, through their distribution and availability in the field. SICPA recognises that the Asia-Pacific region will be important to the company's growth worldwide.

Stressing the region's importance, SICPA Director Neil Coupland said in Hong Kong, "We view Asia's tobacco industry as a key growth area, in part due to the incidences of counterfeiting, smuggling and diversion schemes that impact the industry in Asia."

Tobacco Asia Expo was conducted in partnership with Tobacco Asia magazine. The Expo focused on the three primary segments of the tobacco industry -- products (manufacturers and trademark holders for cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco), manufacturing (equipment, machinery, supplies and services necessary for manufacturing and packaging tobacco products) and leaf (exporters, processors, blenders and trade groups).

(*) SICPATRACE is a trademark of SICPA Holding SA, registered in Switzerland and other countries

For information:

Mr Marc Bretler, SICPA

Office: +41-21-627-5988

Email: Marc.Bretler@SICPA.com

Source: SICPA
Keywords: Food/Beverages
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