Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and BrandWatch Technologies form long-term partnership

As a result, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany is extending its Securalic® product portfolio by a variety of new, hidden security features as well as the associated readers, thus consolidating its position in the core markets of the United States and Europe. The U.S. partner BrandWatch is a leading supplier in the field of security features. Through the cooperation, it is tapping into new distribution channels for its materials and detectors.

"With this agreement, we will strengthen our position in the security field," said Michael Weiden, head of Functional Materials at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. In recent years, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany has made a name for itself as a global player in this sector. In place of easily copied standard solutions, the company develops an individual security concept for each brand protection program.

The BrandWatch product range increases the array of possible combinations. The hidden security solutions can be verified only by means of detectors. In this way, high-quality brand-name products can be protected against imitation and consumer protection is bolstered. The life-threatening product piracy of pharmaceuticals and their packaging is also made more difficult through the Securalic® security concepts.

They are part of an unbroken verification chain against product piracy and economic crime. Security pigments invisibly identify goods such as paint, plastic and printing products. Readers are used to make the hidden markings visible; one benefit of this is the ability along the supply chain to quickly and reliably differentiate high-quality originals from inferior copies that are damaging to business.

"We're pleased to have found a global partner who is represented in all target markets, has a good technical infrastructure and possesses many years of experience in the high-security sector - such as in protection against the forgery of banknotes and identification cards" said Neil Ivey, CEO of BrandWatch Technologies, about the cooperation with the considerably larger partner. For Michael Heckmeier, Head of Pigments & Functional Materials at Merck KGaA,Darmstadt, Germany, the new partnership is primarily of expansive significance. He said, "We are strengthening ourselves in one of our strategic growth fields with new, innovative security solutions that we develop exclusively for our customers."