France-based identification solutions provider Paragon ID has announced the acquisition of the British card manufacturing company Thames Technology.
Paragon ID offers identification solutions for transport, e-ID, track & trace, brand protection, and payment purposes, while Thames Technology designs, manufactures, personalises and distributes payment cards, loyalty cards, gift cards and other cards.
Paragon ID CEO Clem Garvey said: “The acquisition of Thames Technology represents another step-change in the development of our Company. Just one year ago, we entered the Payment market with the acquisition of AmaTech Group.
“The acquisition of Thames firmly positions us in the Payment card space, with our own EMV-certified site, while also providing us with manufacturing and personalisation capacity in Britain for smart-cards which can be used across all of our existing business activities. We are delighted to welcome the Thames team to the Paragon ID group and look forward to great success together.”
Thames Technology offers manufacturing and personalisation solutions for data security
Founded in 1994, Thames Technology serves customers from different sectors including retail, financial services, banking, leisure and tourism, and government bodies across more than 60 countries worldwide.
It holds the required security certifications for the manufacture and personalisation of Europay Mastercard Visa (EMV) chip cards at its Essex production site in the UK.
According to Paragon ID, the acquisition is part of its payment activity expansion plan, which was initiated last year with the acquisition of AmaTech.
The acquisition is expected to provide an opportunity for Paragon ID to strengthen its position in the UK smart-card markets, and cross-sell a broad range of solutions in the retail and fintech sectors.
Thames Technology operations director Che Colford said: “Everyone here at Thames is very happy and excited to join the Paragon ID group. Our markets are becoming increasingly characterised by the convergence of applications across the domains of Payment, Identity and Transportation and are also becoming increasingly international.
“Joining an internationallyrenowned, industrial group with strong presence in all of these markets makes a lot of sense for Thames and its stakeholders.”
