Reference is made to today`s press release by
Bundesdruckerei GmbH.
DPG, the organization founded to establish and
administer a national deposit system for non-
refillable beverage containers in Germany,
announced on 8 July 2005 that a pre-contract
regarding security marking of non-refillable
deposit containers had been awarded to
Bundesdruckerei. The solution developed by
Bundesdruckerei is based on a special ink that
can be applied on deposit containers. TOMRA has
been Bundesdruckerei`s partner in this endeavor
by developing a reader to detect the ink.
Due to certain issues with the Bundesdruckerei
solution, DPG has today decided not to enter into
a final agreement with Bundesdruckerei on the
security marking. The issues are related to the
ink, not to the ability of the TOMRA reader to
recognize and detect the ink. DPG will instead
evaluate an infrared marking system. This means
that all reverse vending machine (RVM)
manufacturers will have to change the reader
developed for the Bundesdruckerei ink with a new
reader that can detect an infrared marking. A new
field test may not be considered necessary as the
new marking is somewhat similar to the one
currently in use in Denmark and therefore already
a proven concept. In case the details of the new
security marking are not specified in due time
before 1 May 2006, this could mean that all non-
refillable deposit containers will initially be
recognized using barcode readers. Installed
machines will then later be retrofitted with the
required security features.
The impact on TOMRA of a change of security
marking solution is insignificant. First of all,
the deadline for implementing a nationwide
deposit system in Germany is unchanged. This
means that the demand/order situation for reverse
vending machines is unchanged, as retailers need
to find a cost-efficient way to handle large
volumes of deposit containers as of 1 May 2006.
Secondly, the specifications of a potential new
security marking solution will be made available
to all RVM manufacturers in order to ensure full
system security and avoid fraud. This means that
the security marking reader is not going to be a
competitive advantage for any RVM supplier but
rather a standard feature of all RVM`s. This was
also the case with the reader developed by TOMRA
for the Bundesdruckerei solution.
TOMRA remains confident that we can meet all
requirements set by DPG and satisfy the needs and
demands of our customers in Germany going
forward.
For further comments please contact President &
CEO Amund Skarholt, phone +47 97 55 94 25
Asker, 2 December 2005
Tomra Systems ASA