Drawing on almost a century of experience in designing and producing passports, De La Rue will be using the new plant for next generation ePassport development, testing and production. Employing 44 local people, the site utilises advanced technologies and is anticipated to produce up to two million ePassports annually, with the option of almost doubling production output if required. The facility has been designed from scratch and purpose built in order to keep De La Rue's business at the forefront of today's identity management solutions.

This new factory allows De La Rue to print and assemble both machine readable and biometric passports, as well as carry out all necessary quality assurance and product testing. The impressive list of on-site equipment includes a purpose built e-PIC machine that links directly to internal quality control systems which validates the chip integrity throughout the production cycle.

De La Rue has already achieved ISO accreditation for Integrated Management Systems for the site. It took just nine months from demolition of the previous building to the completion of the new factory. Environmental concerns have remained at the heart throughout this project; from building on a recovered brown-field site to the installation of extensive water recovery facilities; the use of solvent free chemicals and recycled packaging materials; and also at the very end of the manufacturing process where waste incineration has been replaced with environmentally friendly granulation.

Malta lies virtually at the centre of the Mediterranean, making it a prime location for shipment to De La Rue Identity Systems' globally dispersed customers who span every continent. A highly skilled, dedicated workforce has been easy to source locally and much of the development work relating to production processes has been done on the island. Throughout its history in Malta, De La Rue has always found it can recruit very high calibre production and industrial engineers. The location of the new ePassport facility next to the banknote factory means that De La Rue can share key support services and leverage the high standards of security already in place at the Currency site.

The ePassport site is managed by Albert Zammit, a Maltese national, who has recently returned from Sri Lanka where he managed De La Rue's banknote printing factory for the past seven years. He said, "De La Rue is extremely proud to have worked in partnership with the Maltese authorities to establish the world's first dedicated ePassport production site. Its official opening by Dr Lawrence Gonzi, prime minister of Malta, is evidence of the key strategic role that the factory will play in the development and production of the world's most secure national identity documents."

James Thorburn, managing director, De La Rue Identity Systems, commented, "European Union membership, location, a skilled workforce and a real spirit of partnership were all key factors in establishing De La Rue's new ePassport plant in Malta. We are now in a very strong position to serve our clients as demand for our proven ePassport solution continues to grow rapidly."