With the launch of this state-of-the-art production facility, the company reinforces its service level particularly in the Asian market. It also further strengthens UPM Raflatac's global presence in the RFID market, as the company now manufactures tags and inlays on three continents: Asia, North America and Europe.

In Guangzhou, the initial annual production capacity will be 100 million pieces including high-frequency and ultra-high frequency passive RFID tags and inlays. The factory's capacity is scalable to hundreds of millions of pieces annually, according to market demand.

Manufacture in Southern China's Guangdong province provides definitive advantages, such as being close to existing and potential customers and direct access to the Chinese market. It also eliminates the need to import products from other factories. "The opportunity to operate locally gives us a solid base for growth in the Asian market and at the same time validates our position as the globally leading manufacturer of RFID tags and inlays," says Christer Härkönen, Senior Vice President of UPM Raflatac's RFID business.

In the Asian market, UPM Raflatac serves several RFID end-use areas including apparel, ticketing, supply chain management, pharmaceutical, media management, transportation and industrial. In addition to better serving the domestic market, UPM Raflatac will manufacture tags and inlays in Guangzhou for exportation.

"The opening of the Guangzhou facility is a great achievement for UPM Raflatac, establishing the company as a truly global inlay manufacturer," says Michael Liard, Research Director for RFID & Contactless from leading market research company ABI Research. "The application mix in Asia continues to diversify as more customers across multiple vertical markets evaluate and adopt RFID. UPM Raflatac's local presence and increased manufacturing capacity positions the company to meet growing demand in China as well as abroad."