Winners Recognized at the 2018 ICMA EXPO in Orlando

PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J.—April 2, 2018—The International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA), a global trade association for card manufacturers, personalizers, issuers and suppliers, today announced its winners of the prestigious 2018 Élan Awards for Card Manufacturing Excellence.

Jeffrey Barnhart, ICMA founder and executive director, revealed the winners at the 2018 ICMA Card Manufacturing and Personalization EXPO. The conference and tradeshow was held March 26-29 at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate in Florida.

“New technologies continue to revolutionize the way the card industry does business and it’s exciting to watch how manufacturers, personalizers and suppliers embrace that change and adapt their businesses to respond,” said Jeffrey Barnhart, executive director and founder of ICMA.“ICMA is proud to recognize the companies that have produced the best and most innovative products around the globe over the past year.”

After Barnhart announced the winner in each category, ICMA board president Keith Yeates, of Bristol ID Technologies, presented the individual awards to each honoree.

The 2018 winners and finalists:

Best Supplier/Vendor New Product, Service or Innovation

• First Finalist: Tianjin Boyuan New Materials Co., Ltd for the B5115-MS20 PET Overlay
• Second Finalist: Covestro for the Makrofol ID4-4 160016
• Winner: Otto Künnecke GmbH for the Card Kiosk

Best Personalization & Fulfillment (P&F) Product, Service or Project.

• First Finalist: Bristol ID Technologies for the Wild Waves Theme & Water Park Season Pass manufactured for Legend Data Systems, Inc.
• Second Finalist: Goldpac Limited for the 2018 City Series Starbucks Gift Card Gift Set manufactured for Starbucks
• Winner: Placard Pty Ltd for the Velocity Frequent Flyer Gold Welcome Pack manufactured for the Velocity Frequent Flyer, Loyalty Program of Virgin Australia

MANUFACTURING EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Loyalty, Promotional and Gift Cards

• First Finalist: Goldpac Limited for the 2018 Filigree My Starbucks Rewards Card manufactured for Starbucks
• Second Finalist: ABCorp for the McDonalds Board of Directors Gift Card manufactured for McDonalds
• Winner: CPI Card Group for the Victoria’s Secret Limited Edition Angel Forever Card manufactured for Alliance Data and Victoria’s Secret

ID and Access Control Cards:

• First Finalist: Guangdong Chutian Dragon Smart Card Co., Ltd for the Huarong Family Card manufactured for Huarong Xiangjiang Bank & Xiangjiang Card Co.
• Second Finalist: ABCorp for the Republic of Liberia National ID manufactured for Technobrain
• Winner: IDEMIA for the California Driver’s License/Identification Card manufactured for the California Department of Motor Vehicles

Unique Innovation:

• First Finalist: Plasticard-Locktech International for the Faux Glow Ulta Card manufactured for Ulta Beauty
• Second Finalist: G&D (China) Information Technologies Co., Ltd for the Bank of China’s Minions Theme Card manufactured for the Bank of China
• Winner: CompoSecure LLC for the HSBC Lion manufactured for HSBC

Best Secure Payment Card

• First Finalist: CPI Card Group for the Uber Card manufactured for Barclays
• Second Finalist: G&D (China) Information Technologies Co., Ltd for the Credit Cards with Paintings Themed on the Forbidden City: Yongzheng Emperor Card manufactured for Minsheng Bank
• Winner: G&D (China) Information Technologies Co., Ltd for the ICBC’s Celestial Constellation Credit Card manufactured for ICBC

The People’s Choice Award, awarded by ballots cast by ICMA EXPO attendees

• First Finalist: CPI Card Group for the Uber Card manufactured for Barclays
• Second Finalist: CompoSecure LLC for the HSBC Lion manufactured for HSBC
• Winner: Goldpac Limited for the 2018 Filigree My Starbucks Rewards Card manufactured for Starbucks

ICMA Élan Awards for Card Manufacturing Excellence celebrate the pinnacle of design innovation, security and technical achievements in the industry by leading global manufacturers.

Judging encompassed three categories: card suppliers, personalization and fulfillment and card manufacturing. The 2018 judges included ICMA Standards Representative David Tushie of Magellan Consulting; John Schneiderhan of Sun Chemical and Uwe Trüggelmann of TruCert Ltd.

For more than 28 years, the annual ICMA EXPO has served as a global destination for industry professionals to connect, network and learn about changing technologies, developments and products. ICMA honors its members’ outstanding achievements in both card design and technology innovation through its Élan Awards.

To learn more about the benefits of ICMA membership, visit www.icma.com.

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About ICMA For nearly 30 years, ICMA has been a nonprofit association of card manufacturers, personalizers, suppliers and related industry participants. With more than 200 members globally, ICMA acts as a resource for industry issues, including the production, technology, application, security and environmental issues of cards. More information is available at icma.com.