News in Brief

Ennoventure Wins Anti-Counterfeit Technology Award

Ennoventure Inc has recently received an award for the most secure anti-counterfeit technology 2022 at the EMEA Security Conference and Exhibition, held in Saudi Arabia.

The company, based out of the US and India, has created an SAAS (software as a service) platform for brand authentication and engagement across diverse industry sectors. It was founded in August 2018, with the goal of developing innovative solutions to solve counterfeiting and quality management challenges faced by modern day businesses.

The company uses AI, cryptography, blockchain and embedded solutions in its product offerings.

Ennoventure is headquartered in Massachusetts, USA and has its R&D centre in Bengaluru, India. In April 2018, the company raised $1 million in a seed fund round and has recently raised $5 million in its series A funding from Fenice Investment Group, USA.

Ennoventure’s key markets are South Asia, India and Africa, with further plans to expand into the European and US markets.

Talon Launches StegVision

Talon International has announced the launch of a new anti-counterfeit and consumer engagement technology, StegVision. The company says that the technology functions off an app that’s designed to help businesses and consumers combat counterfeit products across all industries and create powerful engagements with consumers.

By combining AI, machine learning, computer vision and steganography, StegVision encodes invisible unique labels or markings for brands and products.

Algorithms are placed within the label design that only StegVision’s app can see. By giving each brand or product its own unique invisible marking, StegVision prevents fake products and counterfeit items from easily entering the market and being sold as originals.

StegVision anti-counterfeiting solutions reportedly require no changes to the clients existing artwork, logo or design. There’s no need for tags, QR codes or printing methods: production processes can stay as they are.

StegVision also aims to open a new marketing communications channel, giving brands direct access to engaged consumers and empowering brands to interact with consumers instantly.

According to Talon, it has become much easier to produce and distribute counterfeit products. The rise in internet shopping and international shipping has created a global network of fakes. StegVision gives brands control over their distribution network and provides a direct connection to retailers and customers.

New MD for De La Rue’s Authentication Division

De La Rue has appointed David Sharratt as Managing Director of its Authentication division, replacing Andrew Clint, who has resigned to pursue other opportunities, after three years leading the division – and over 13 years with the company.

The Authentication division is responsible for De La Rue’s brand protection and government revenue solutions businesses, which have enjoyed strong growth over the past few years, along with ID security components and secure and financial documents such as certificates and cheques.

David Sharratt has over 25 years’ experience growing businesses across a number of sectors, including mobile computing and software, renewable energy and chemicals. Most recently, he was Vice President, International for Array Technologies, a leader in solar power installations. Prior to this, he held various business development leadership positions at Honeywell International, including in their Global Tracking, Scanning and Mobility, and Chemicals business units.

3M Verify Platform Rolls Out

Industrial products provider 3M has established the 3M Verify platform to report potential counterfeit 3M products, building on the success of its anti-counterfeit efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic by expanding its counterfeit reporting process to include all its products.

According to the company, it worked closely with law enforcement and governments around during the pandemic to combat counterfeit respirators and COVID-19 related fraud. These efforts resulted in more than 58 million counterfeit respirators being sized, tens of thousands of fraudulent e-commerce offerings removed, and wrongdoers targeting frontline workers with misleading schemes sued.

‘At 3M we are focused on innovating for our customers and that includes our commitment to fight counterfeiting and fraud,’ said Kevin Rhodes, 3M Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Affairs Officer. ‘The 3M Verify platform will enable all our customers to be confident their product is genuine and delivering the quality that 3M is known for around the world.’ 

3M.com/3MVerify provides resources and information to help customers, distributors, employees and the general public avoid purchasing counterfeit 3M products, and allows customers to contact 3M to report potential counterfeit products. Reports of suspected counterfeit 3M products will be reviewed and investigated by anti-counterfeit response teams globally.

OpSec’s New Foil for Security Printers

OpSec Security has launched OpSec® Lazafoil™ as part of its newly released OpSec Agile™ range.

Lazafoil is a laser resistant general purpose holographic hot stamping foil, designed for patch application on a variety of substrates. It is particularly suited to those with lower volume requirements and works well when subsequent personalisation of a document (using a laser writer) is required.

Lazafoil is the most recent addition to the Agile range, a suite of versatile hot stamping foils. It is supported by a rapid origination service that provides security printers with a choice of technologies, including Genus, OpSec’s proprietary electron beam (e-beam) technology.

Agile comprises six foils, optimised for registered patch or continuous stripe applications on a variety of security substrates. Foils are compatible with the wide range of application machines used across the security print industry. OpSec’s flexible manufacturing solution means Agile foils can be made available fully finished in a matter of weeks, in accordance with customer needs. They can also be supplied in flexible volumes, from a few hundred to several thousand square meters.

This latest offering from OpSec is another demonstration of innovation in adapting to customer needs, says the company.

According to Peter Waker, SVP and GM Authentication at OpSec, ‘the last few years have seen supply chains severely disrupted by a combination of COVID-19 and Brexit. The security print market has had to review its complex supply chains, and OpSec is ideally placed to support our customers in these changing times.’ The OpSec Agile range provides cost- effective, quick turn-around, high-quality hot stamping foils, ideal for security printers across the globe, he added.