Boca Raton, Fla. -- Tyco Fire & Security, a leading provider of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) solutions through its Sensormatic and SensorID brands, and Rafsec Oy, one of the world's largest manufacturers of RFID tags and labels, have signed a letter of intent to provide a complete physical layer solution of tags, readers and reader infrastructure in the United States.
The two companies will work together to combine Tyco Fire & Security's leading expertise in RFID reader infrastructure with Rafsec's broad range of RFID tag manufacturing capabilities. This working relationship will offer retailers, product manufacturers and packaging companies a seamless and complete RFID product set.
Tyco Fire & Security will deliver its EPC-based RFID reader products, as well as EPC-based RFID tags and labels manufactured by Rafsec to end users in the U.S. market. Reader and tag products are complemented by comprehensive deployment and field support services also offered by Tyco Fire & Security's ADT Security Services Inc.
This EPC-based RFID product and service offering is designed to enable tracking of pallets or cartons in the retail supply chain, as specified in Wal*Mart's recent RFID initiative.
"Our goal is to help our customers meet 2005 RFID compliance goals set by leading retailers and product manufacturers," said George Reynolds, vice president of RFID development for Tyco Fire & Security. "These types of strategic arrangements will help us to do just that by providing a complete physical layer of RFID protection that can be easily integrated and help our customers protect their technology investment."
The two companies will work together on key pilot programs for a major consumer product supplier beginning in early 2004. The pilot programs will be used to further refine RFID products for use in supply chain tracking.
"The key word in this joint effort is complete," said Timo Lindstrom, president of Rafsec. "Both companies bring vast knowledge and experience in our respective areas of expertise. At the same time, our organizations complement each other making the best use of each other's resources without additional investment."
Tyco Fire & Security and Rafsec are working together to ensure interoperability between their products, as well as optimized performance of tags placed on specific goods. This includes tag certification by type, placement and reader effectiveness.
"This certification will make for a smoother deployment process for our RFID customers," Reynolds said. "We will use our years of reader and tag experience with Sensormatic Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) products, to determine the best type of RFID tags for each product and situation, the best placement of those tags and the most effective reader solution for these variables in the different supply chain environments.
Tyco Fire & Security will bring these new solutions to market through ADT Security Services, Inc., the company's sales, service and support arm for its RFID technologies, as well as for other security-based products including EAS, digital video management, access control, and facilities protection and monitoring solutions. ADT has a long history of deploying large-scale, complex electronic systems. ADT operates in more than 230 service centers throughout the United States and employs more than 25,000 dedicated professionals in the U.S. alone.
Backed by the strength of its parent, the UPM-Kymmene Corporation, Rafsec, headquartered in Tampere, Finland, has the largest capacity in the industry for the integrated production of high quality RFID transponders suitable for numerous end-use applications. For more information, please visit http://www.rafsec.com.
Through its Sensormatic and SensorID brands, Tyco Fire & Security, a major business segment of Tyco International Ltd., develops innovative solutions using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for the retail and manufacturing supply chains. It also designs, manufactures, installs and services electronic security systems, fire protection, detection and suppression systems, sprinklers and fire extinguishers.
