17 April 2007
British Company Ingenia and Bayer Technology Services Wins International Technology Prize
Ingenia Technology (Ingenia), the international company developing the next generation of security technology, is delighted to announce that, in conjunction with Germany’s Bayer Technology Services (BTS), it has won the Hermes Award, a prestigious international technology prize, via a unanimous vote of the adjudicating panel. This continues Ingenia’s and Professor Cowburn’s recent run of awards (please see the website www.ingeniatechnology.com).
The prize was awarded for ProteXXion®, a pioneering identification technology which authenticates man-made objects and packaging against forgery. This new product was developed by BTS using Ingenia’s Laser Surface Authentication technology (LSA™). The invention of Professor Russell Cowburn, LSA™ is a groundbreaking technology which recognises and verifies the inherent “fingerprint” on all papers, plastics and metals. It can therefore be used to detect fraudulent or counterfeit reproductions of items such as passports, pharmaceutical products and consumer products including tobacco, alcohol and mobile phones. Unlike traditional “hologram” forms of security verification, LSA™ is highly accurate – often more so than DNA.
The Hermes Award was presented to Ingenia and BTS by Dr Annette Schavan, patron of the award and German Federal Minister for Education and Research. German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also attended the ceremony. Ingenia and BTS were chosen unanimously as winners by an independent panel of expert judges, chaired by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Wahlster,Managing Director of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence and Member of the Nobel Prize Academy.
Mounir Barakat, Chief Executive of Ingenia, commented:
“We are delighted to have been chosen unanimously by the judges for this prestigious award, which is a ringing endorsment both of the groundbreaking implications of LSA™ for international security, and of the hard work and effort of the team which developed it. I am particularly proud of the way Ingenia and BTS have co-operated so constructively and positively on this product.”
Mark McGlade, business Devlopmen Director of Ingenia, said:
“ProteXXion® is a fine example of what can be achieved by innovative UK technology in partnership with German engineering ability. This award reflects the recognition Ingenia is gaining in the security technology sector internationally and we are excited about further business opportunities for LSA™.
For further information, please contact:
Mounir Barakat/Mark McGlade
Ingenia Technology Tel: +44 (0) 0870 351 2584
Dan de Belder/Helen Tarbet
Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial Tel: +44 (0) 207 861 3232
Editors’ notes
Ingenia Technology
Ingenia Technology was founded in 2004 with its headquarters in London.
Ingenia Technology is an emerging international company in the authentication and verification of papers, plastics and metals, as used in documents, ID cards and product packaging.
Its mission is to create the next generation of security technology, solving critical inadequacies in existing solutions.
To do this, Ingenia has worked closely with Durham University and Imperial College London through Prof Russell Cowburn, and continues to do so.
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