Press Releases

International Card Manufacturers Association Announces Dates For Spring Workshops

—Workshops to Be Held in Munich, Germany and Chicago, Illinois USA—

PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ, March 28, 2006—Providing valuable industry insight on issues ranging from card overlay films and substrates to contactless chip cards and the issues and challenges of laying down holomagnetic tape, the International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA) will hold their annual Spring Academy workshops in dual locations—Munich, Germany and Chicago (Schaumburg), Illinois USA. Both workshops share a common theme, “Card Manufacturing Today—What You Need to Know.” Each workshop will address the latest issues and applications in the card manufacturing and production industry, with topics that reflect the industry trends in each individual market.

The first workshop will be held May 22-23, 2006 in Munich, Germany at the Arabella Sheraton Grand Hotel. The second workshop will be held June 7-8, 2006, in Chicago ( Schaumburg), Illinois USA at the Radisson Hotel Schaumburg. Workshop chairmen are Elliot Lamb of Oasys Technologies Ltd. and Cardel; and Bud Kronenberg of Keystone Manufacturing (Plastics) Limited, respectively.

Both venues will feature sessions on the issues and challenges of laying down holomagnetic tape; card overlay films and why different markets take different solutions; and Teslin and its utilization in the card Industry.

Additionally, the US-based workshop will offer sessions on preparing for an OSHA inspection, new challenges in RFID personalization, what happens in the lamination cycle, card durability, Visa card standards and innovation, as well as understanding the methodology and processes behind a capital expenditure. A special session on colors and optical illusions that occur when doing press-checks to customers will also be presented.

Geared more toward the European region, the Germany-based workshop will include sessions on manufacturing contactless chip cards, understanding where and when to use different card substrates, the equipment that a quality-conscious test lab should include, what a state-of-the-art prepress shoud look like, improving the lifetime of card products, security restrictions in a MasterCard-secured plant and chip module glue tape.

The Spring ICMA Academy workshops are designed to provide members of the card industry with updates on the latest advancements and challenges in the plastic card industry. Speakers for the ICMA Workshops include representatives from ABNH, ACG Identification Technologies, CPPC, DeLaRue, DuPont Teijin Films, Klockner Pentaplast GmbH, Kurz Transfer Products, INEOS Films, JURA, MasterCard, NBS Technologies, PPG Industries, Smartrac, Thor Technologies, UTM Umformtechnik Mauderer GmbH, VCT/Qualteq, Versatile Card Technology, Visa International, Visa USA Inc. and Waytek. For a complete listing of topics and speakers, visit the ICMA web site at www.icma.com.

This year’s workshops will again include table top displays, which allow suppliers to gain exposure with potential clients by featuring company products and/or product literature. The sessions will also include a networking dinner, which will allow members to interact with each other and exchange ideas, products, literature and other pertinent information.

“The ICMA Workshops are ideal for ICMA members to obtain the latest industry information and network with their peers and potential clients,” said Jeffrey E. Barnhart, ICMA co-founder and executive director. “Attendees will hear from industry experts about issues relevant to their professional growth and get first-hand knowledge about coming trends.”

Gear ed towards all card manufacturing and personalization production managers, supervisors, executives and line workers, the Spring ICMA Academy Workshops are open to ICMA members only. Cost to attend is $425 USD. (Price includes the networking dinner.)

To register for the Spring ICMA Academy Workshops or learn more about becoming an ICMA member, please visit www.icma.com, contact Lynn McCullough at LMccullough@icma.com, or phone 1-609-799-4900, x11.

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About ICMA
Based in Princeton Junction, NJ USA, ICMA is a non-profit association comprised of plastic card manufacturers, personalizers and related industry participants. With more than 220 members globally, representing more than 35 countries, ICMA acts as a clearinghouse for industry issues, including the production, technology, application, security and environmental issues of plastic cards. Visit the ICMA website at www.icma.com.