Not yet a household name, but well respected in the industry, UPM Raflatac is well positioned to take centre stage in the burgeoning RFID market. Here's their profile, as presented to RFID Solutions:


UPM Raflatac is a world-leading supplier of pressure sensitive labelstock for a wide variety of needs in product and information labelling. In addition, the company is at the global forefront in the development and high-volume production of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and inlays. Headquartered in Finland, the company has the broadest and most comprehensive in-house know-how and capabilities for RFID tag and inlay design and manufacturing.UPM Raflatac has around 2,300 employees and an annual turnover of approximately EUR 850 million. The company has a global service network consisting of 11 factories on five continents and a broad network of terminals and sales offices worldwide. UPM Raflatac is part of UPM, a leading global forest products company with annual sales of EUR 10 billion and stocks listed on the Helsinki and New York stock exchanges.


RFID Applications
RFID is a technology that enables wireless data capture and transaction processing. There are two main areas of application, defined broadly as proximity (short range) and vicinity (long range). Long range or vicinity applications can generally be described as track and trace applications, but the technology provides additional functionality and benefits for product authentication. Short range or proximity applications are typically access control applications.


UPM Raflatac RFID business focuses at the following segments:


Pharmaceutical industry

The e-pedigree is a hot topic in the pharmaceutical industry. The origin of pharmaceuticals has to be verified on the item-level. There is also need for anti-counterfeiting procedures. The utilization of RFID empowers safe and secure supply and administration of pharmaceuticals.


Supply chain management
Supermarkets are tagging pallets, cases and other returnable transit items, such as plastic crates used for fresh foods. The RTIs are capital assets, so visibility is essential. Tagging the crates gives total asset visibility and allows better management of the asset pool. The ability to write to the tag also allows the addition of information such as the contents of the crate, sell-by date and manufacturer. Linking this type of information to the store’s inventory management systems can ensure that goods are moved to the shelves in strict rotation and reduce spoilage and out-of-stocks.


Libraries and media management

RFID is used in many libraries to automate the issue and return of books, videos and CDs and to give real-time visibility for library inventory. Until recently, books and CDs have been identified using bar coded labels, each of which had to be read individually with a bar code reader. Inventory control and reconciliation has been a laborious and time-consuming operation.


With RFID, books and CDs can be checked in and out automatically and inventory control can be automated using scanners on shelves or with their hand-held counterparts. The result is a reduction in the need for personnel and a much higher degree of accuracy in inventory management.