Expansion Management

Brazilian Company Joins Teraco to Build Plant to Supply Chip Cards to US

May 14, 2014

The companies said that a major focus of this venture is on the EMV migration that is moving forward at a rapid pace in the U.S. and Canadian banks.

Adrienne Selko

IntelCav, a Brazilian based company that is one of the largest EMV chip bank card manufacturers in the world, announced on May 14 that it is merging with Teraco, an American card manufacturer, to provide a wide variety of chip cards to the U.S. market.

The companies said that a major focus of this venture is on the EMV migration that is moving forward at a rapid pace at U.S. and Canadian banks.

In addition to bank cards, IntelCav is also a smart card and technology provider for the mass transit, telecomm, identification and authentication markets.

The new facility, to be located in Chicago, will leverage the existing manufacturing, operations and sales organization from Teraco. The expected annual production capacity of this new plant is 120 million chip cards.

"We have produced more than 1.4 billion payment cards in our Brazilian plants of which 600 million were chip based," commented the founder of IntelCav, Venanzio Cipollitti.

The new plant will also have significant capacity for magnetic stripe and chip card personalization and fulfillment services; customized solutions for card processors and banks. Teraco's Midland, Texas facility will continue to produce high volume non-secure cards.

"We also believe that the Dual Interface card is a global trend, which enables the use of a single chip card in contact and contactless mode. We will have the production capacity for it also," added Casey Campbell, CEO of Teraco. "We are very excited to join forces with IntelCav, as well as opening a new facility and the unique and challenging opportunity that the migration represents."

About the Author

Adrienne Selko | Senior Editor

Focus: Workforce, Talent

Follow Me on Twitter: @ASelkoIW

Bio: Adrienne Selko has written about many topics over the 17 years she has been with the publication and currently focuses on workforce development strategies. Previously Adrienne was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck? which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics and EHS Today.

Editorial mission statement: Manufacturing is the enviable position of creating products, processes and policies that solve the world’s problems. When the industry stepped up to manufacture what was necessary to combat the pandemic, it revealed its true nature. My goal is to showcase the sector’s ability to address a broad range of workforce issues including technology, training, diversity & inclusion, with a goal of enticing future generations to join this amazing sector.

Why I find manufacturing interesting: On my first day working for a company that made medical equipment such as MRIs, I toured the plant floor. On every wall was a photo of a person, mostly children. I asked my supervisor why this was the case and he said that the work we do at this company has saved these people’s lives. “We never forget how important our work is and everyone’s contribution to that.” From that moment on I was hooked on manufacturing.

I have talked with many people in this field who have transformed their own career development to assist others. For example, companies are hiring those with disabilities, those previously incarcerated and other talent pools that have been underutilized. I have talked with leaders who have brought out the best in their workforce, as well as employees doing their best work while doing good for the world.