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Representatives from CFC International, Giesecke & Devrient (OH), Oberthur Technologies and Versatile Card Technology Earn ICMA ACE Accreditation

-ICMA Announces New ACE Accredited Members at CARTES-

Paris, France – November 3, 2008 – The International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA), a global non-profit association for card manufacturers, personalizers, issuers and suppliers, announced from the CARTES industry tradeshow this week five more members have earned the Advanced Card Education (ACE-M) accreditation. The program was introduced to recognize the knowledge, experience and dedication of leading professionals throughout the card manufacturing industry.

The first designation, ACE-M, covers general card manufacturing; future designations will include ACE-A (advanced technologies) and ACE-P (personalization). To date, thirteen have successfully passed. The following are the most recent members to earn the ACE-M designation:

• Derrick Celewicz
  Plant Manager
  Versatile Card Technology

• Shannon K. Crawford-Taylor
  Senior Chemist
  CFC International

• Bob Cristinzio
  Operations Manager
  CFC International

• Barry Mosteller
  Director of Product Development
  Oberthur Technologies of America Corp.

• Del Reyes
  Production Manager
  Giesecke & Devrient (OH)

Individuals earn the ACE designation by demonstrating an in-depth knowledge of card manufacturing processes through the completion of a rigorous exam. Applicants must be working for an ICMA member company and have a minimum of three years of industry experience in order to take the test.

The ACE examination evaluates the skills and knowledge of card manufacturing professionals and is comprised of eight key sections: PVC/Plastics, Inks, Adhesives, Printing, Collation, Lamination, Die-cutting and Standards/Testing. Individuals must score minimum proficiency in all eight areas in order to pass the exam.

“The ACE examination provides members with the opportunity to showcase their expertise and distinguish themselves as accredited card manufacturing professionals in the industry,” said Al Vrancart, ICMA Industry Co-Founder and Industry Advisor.

The following members also earned ACE accreditation: Julie Hermanson, PSA, Matthew O’Connell, Arthur Blank & Co., an ABNote Co., Guy Meeker, CPI Card Group, Inc., Mark Powell and Eric Virostek, Giesecke & Devrient, Mike Sabatini, Perfect Plastic Printing, Daniel Szumski, CFC International and Jim Ward, Allegheny Plastics Inc.

The next test date is:
Friday, April 3, 2009
Puerto Rico (in conjunction with ICMA EXPO)

For more information on the ICMA ACE accreditation, or to learn how to become an ICMA member, call (609) 799-4900; e-mail info@icma.com or visit the ICMA website at http://www.icma.com.

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