SICPA (acronym for the former name Société Industrielle et Commerciale de Produits Alimentaires, no longer in use) is a Swiss company that provides security inks for currencies and sensitive documents, including identity documents, passports, transport and lottery tickets. According to the Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau's International Anti-Counterfeiting Directory, SICPA provides more than 85% of the world's currency inks. The company is also involved in the market for secure traceability of products subject to excise duties, such as alcohol and tobacco stamps, and regulated products, such as halal products.
A highly secretive company, SICPA employs roughly 3,000 employees and has offices and manufacturing sites in 30 countries worldwide.
History
Beginnings
The company was founded in 1927 by Maurice Amon (1880–1959) in Lausanne to sell Swiss agricultural products, at that time primarily milk and cream, after Amon invented a new type of milking grease that facilitated the milking process. SICPA quickly moved to inks for printers to serve the growing demand in the Lausanne region.
After World War II, Maurice Amon's sons Albert (1916–2010) and Salvador (1912–1993) directed the company towards sophisticated inks with characteristics that deter counterfeiting. In 1948, the Spanish 100 Peseta note was the first in the world to be printed using SICPA's security ink.
In 1952, SICPA established a joint venture in Lausanne with Gualtiero Giori, an Italian printing specialist. In 1965, Giori founded a company with a British competitor firm, De La Rue, the world's oldest printer of banknotes.
Worldwide expansion
Since then, the company has extended its worldwide market reach. In 1982, the company won a contract from the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing to provide the ink for the US Dollar. In 1987, the first bank note using OVI colour-changing ink was issued in Thailand. The firm also supplied the inks for the new Euro notes in 2002.
That same year, SICPA acquired the security ink segment of American company Flint Ink.
SICPA's factory relocated to Chavornay in 1990.
The company underwent restructuring in 1996 following a failed investment in Australia. As a result, two Swiss banks, the Société de banque suisse (SBS) et la Banque cantonale vaudoise (BCV), took partial control of the firm, Albert Amon retired, and his sons Philippe and Maurice joined the board of directors.
In 2001, SICPA entered the market for authentication and traceability solutions through the launch of a "Product Safety" division, offering anti-counterfeit solutions and improving the collection of taxes on products such as tobacco, alcohol and currently also Medical cannabis.
Three years later, in 2004, the first track and trace contract was signed with the government of Malaysia. Other contracts were signed for tobacco tracing in California (2005) and Massachusetts (2010), Brazil (2007 and 2010 for beer and tobacco), Turkey (2007), Morocco (2010) and Kenya (2013).
SICPA also used to be active in the production of packaging inks, but sold that business to German company Siegwerk in 2005 for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition made Siegwerk the second largest manufacturer of packaging ink in the world.
SICPA acquired the production unit of Italian company Olivetti I-Jet in 2014, after having already purchased the R&D unit the year before. It is also present in Ecuador. Also in 2014, SICPA acquired Cabot Security Materials Inc., based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
With cannabis becoming legal in several US states for medical purposes, SICPA introduced its cannabis tracking program to the US, notably in California.
Organization
Key figures
A secretive company, SICPA does not publicly communicate its business figures (number of employees, offices, location of the latter etc.). However, the firm's turnover was estimated to be $750 million in 2003. Its employees are estimated to have increased from 1,100 to 3,000 between 2007 and 2013 due to several acquisitions, 400 of which work at the company headquarters in Prilly. Resulting from internal reshuffling of two of its tracing business units, an estimated 100 employees have been made redundant since 2014. A "reorganization plan" affected 150 employees in 2017.
Governance
From 2000 to 2003, Jean Daloglou was the CEO of the group. From 2003 to 2005 the position was held by Jan Secher. SICPA is now owned and managed by Philippe Amon, his brother Maurice Amon having left the company.
Business segments
The company's activities are divided into three main segments: