Press Release 10 February 2010

SMARTRAC prepares for electronic passport and ID card demand in South America

SMARTRAC N.V., a leading manufacturer and supplier of RFID transponders, today announced that its local subsidiary in Manaus, Brazil, is making provisions for upcoming electronic passport and ID card projects in South America. First samples for a current electronic passport bidding process have been produced in the production site in the Amazon region and delivered.

Customers relying on SMARTRAC’s local presence in the region benefit from the company’s long-lived experience in the manufacturing of high security inlays. Purchase from a local supplier also offers business partners significant tax advantages compared to products that are manufactured abroad and have to be imported.

“The South American Market has great potential in terms of eID applications”, says Dr. Christian Fischer, CEO of SMARTRAC. “We are confident that the benefits of our local production site combined with our superior technology and long lasting experience will help us to gain market share in this region.”

SMARTRAC High Security RFID inlays for electronic passports, National ID Cards and further electronic identity documents are manufactured with the company’s advanced and proprietary wire-embedding technology. This superior antenna technology has set standards for high security applications and is the technology of choice for more than 30 electronic passport projects worldwide.

In South America, adoption of electronic passports and ID cards is currently in the early stages. In the course of the further market development and with rising demand, SMARTRAC intends to convert its production facility into a high security production environment conformant to the international common criteria (CC) security standard.


About SMARTRAC N.V.
SMARTRAC is a leading manufacturer and supplier of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) components for a broad bandwidth of applications in all current frequency standards. The company produces ready-made as well as customized transponders for public transport, access control, animal identification, industry and logistics.

SMARTRAC is the global leader in high-quality RFID inlays for passports with integrated, contactless chips (ePassports), contactless credit cards (ePayment) as well as for RFID transponders for public transportation applications and car immobilizers. SMARTRAC was founded in 2000 and since going public in July 2006 has been trading as a stock corporation under Dutch law with its registered headquarters in Amsterdam. The company currently employs some 2,600 employees and maintains a global research and development, production and sales network.





If you have any questions, please contact:

Tanja Moehler
Head of Corporate Communications
SMARTRAC N.V.

Phone: +31 20 30 50 157
E-mail: media.relations@smartrac-group.com
Internet: www.smartrac-group.com


Forward-looking statements
To the extent that this press release contains forward-looking statements, such statements are based on assumptions, planning, and forecasts at the time of publication of this press release. Forward-looking statements always involve uncertainties. Business and economic risks and developments, the conduct of competitors, political decisions, and other factors may cause the actual results to be materially different from the assumptions, planning, and forecasts at the time of publication of this press release. Therefore, SMARTRAC N.V. does not assume any responsibility relating to forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Furthermore, SMARTRAC N.V. does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.