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Setec strengthens its position as the leading supplier of biometric passports in Europe; Setec granted a major passport order from Sweden
2004 09 23

Setec strengthens its position as the leading supplier of biometric passports in Europe; Setec granted a major passport order from Sweden
31-08-2004

The Finnish smart card and security printing company Setec in co-operation with its joint venture AB Svenska Pass has won an international tender of the Swedish passport and official ID card. The agreement with the Swedish police authorities, Rikspolisstyrelsen, was signed today in Sweden. The total value of the contract is approximately EUR 100 million and the order is the biggest ever for Setec. The agreement covers five years and includes a two-year option.

The deliveries to Sweden will start at the beginning of 2005. At first Rikspolisstyrelsen will continue issuing the current visual polycarbonate-based passports, but at the beginning of October 2005 Sweden will launch the biometric passport version with the polycarbonate data page developed and manufactured by Setec. The volume of passports delivered in Sweden will be approximately one million per year. The passports are personalised by AB Svenska Pass. This new agreement is a continuation to an existing contract according to which Setec has been delivering passports to Sweden since 1998.

As a new product Setec starts delivering new official electronic ID cards for Sweden, too. The agreement related to EID cards is also a five-year contract, and it includes an option of two additional years as well. The EID card deliveries will start latest in October 2005.

According to the President and CEO of Setec, Mr Pekka Eloholma, the Swedish authorities’ decision to choose Setec-developed and manufactured biometric passports indicates Setec’s position as the leading developer and manufacturer of a smart card based passports.

“I would estimate that in the next five years most of the European countries will make a purchasing decision concerning biometric passport. The agreement with the Swedish authorities strengthens our position in the European passport market, which is facing a very interesting phase of change and growth. Setec’s opportunities to meet the market demands are excellent at the moment,” Mr Eloholma states.

“We chose Setec to be the supplier of our new passport and EID card as company’s products fulfilled our security demands very well. Furthermore, Setec was able to supply the products according to our delivery schedule,” says Mr Lars Karlsand, Principal Administrative Officer at the Swedish National Police Board.

Sweden is the second country in the world to issue a passport tender for biometric passport according to the specifications of ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organization. The first country to decide to have a biometric passport that fulfils ICAO’s recommendations is Denmark which also chose Setec to be the supplier in last January. The deliveries of the new Danish passport will start at the beginning of October. Denmark, as well as Sweden, will also launch first the new passport without the chip, and start distributing the smart card based passport at a later date.

For further information, please contact:

Mr Pekka Eloholma, President and CEO, Setec
tel. +358 09 8941 4303, mobile +358 50 5555 590

Mr Lars Karlsand, Principal Administrative Officer, The Swedish National Police Board
tel. +46 8 401 91 21

Article From:http://www.setec.com/english/press/article.php?article=144


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