ICMA Élan Award Winners Shine With Innovative Entries

Winners Recognized at ICMA’s Annual Awards Ceremony on May 3rd

PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ – May 9, 2011 – The International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA) announced the winners of its annual Élan Awards for Card Manufacturing Excellence at its annual awards ceremony on May 3, 2011 as part of its four day Card Manufacturing and Personalization EXPO at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa in Hollywood, Florida.

Before honoring the winners and finalists in the individual card categories, ICMA announced H.W. Sands Corp. as the winner of the Best Exhibit Design for their creative and innovative booth design. CardLogix was recognized as the ID Ideas Badge Design contest winner along with finalists Placard Pty. Ltd. and CPI Card Group. This contest enables members to submit their EXPO themed badge design to be considered as the badge worn by all attendees. Karen Henk of Versatile Card Technology received the Outstanding Member Service Award for her commitment to the association.

The ICMA Élan Awards honor card manufacturers and vendors for their world-class achievements in card design and technological innovation, while distinguishing them before their peers and customers as industry leaders. Entries were judged solely on the card’s features as entries were not identified by company. Winners and finalists were chosen in each of the following categories:

Best Gift Card

Winner: Production Services Associates
For: the Cohn Restaurant Group Card
Manufactured for: First Data/Cohn Restaurant Group

Finalist: Jet
For: the Target Gift Coins Card
Manufactured for: Target

Finalist: Travel Tags
For: the Marmaduke DVD Gift Card
Manufactured for: 20th Century Firm Corporation and Cinemark Holdings

Best Government Identification Card
 
Winner: Canadian Bank Note Company Limited
For: the Saskatchewan Identification Card
Manufactured for: Saskatchewan Government Insurance

Finalist: Trüb AG
For: the e-ID Estonia Card
Manufactured for: Police and Border Guard Board of Estonia

Finalist: LaserCard Corporation
For: the U.S. Permanent Resident Green Card
Manufactured for: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Best Loyalty & Promotional Card

Winner: CPI Card Group
For: the Southwest Companion Pass Card
Manufactured for: Southwest Airlines

Finalist: Teraco Inc.
For: the MyPanera Card
Manufactured for: Panera Bread

Finalist: Travel Tags
For: the GameStop Power Up Rewards Card
Manufactured for: Ceridian Stored Value Solutions/Game Stop

Best Access Control & ID Cards

Winner: Plasticard Locktech International
For: the Super Bowl XL V 5-Card Mix
Manufactured for: NFL

Finalist: Plasticard Locktech International
For: the Westin 8-Card Mix
Manufactured for: Starwood Hotels and Resorts

Finalist: Bristol ID Technologies
For: the ASI Trade Show Hotel Key Card
Manufactured for: ASI

Unique Innovation

Winner: Goldpac Secure-Card Ltd.
For: the Metropolis Shell Debit Card
Manufactured for: Industrial Bank Co. Ltd, Dalian Branch

Finalist: VCT-New Jersey
For: the Southwest Airlines Classic Card
Manufactured for: Chase

Finalist: Dynamics Inc.
For: the Hidden Card

Best Secure Financial Card Design

Winner: Oberthur Technologies America Corp.
For: the Miss Kitty Card
Manufactured for: China Merchants Bank

Finalist: VCT-New Jersey
For: the Chase INK Business Bold Card
Manufactured for: Chase

Finalist: CPI Card Group
For: the Chase Slate Card
Manufactured for: Chase Bank

Best Value Based Secure Card

Winner: Huangshi G&D Wanda Security Card Ltd.
For: the Crystal Card of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
Manufactured for: Nanjing City Card Co. Ltd.

Finalist: Placard Pty. Ltd.
For: the Betstar Membership Card
Manufactured for: Betstar

Finalist: Goldpac Secur-Card Ltd.
For: the Public Transportation Mid-Autumn Festival Translucent Contactless IC Card
Manufactured for: Hangzhou Public Transport Group Co. Ltd.

Best Vendor New Product, Equipment or Material

Winner: Bayer MaterialScience
For: its versatile hard coated overlay film for cards

Judges’ Choice

Winner: Production Services Associates
For: the Cohn Restaurant Group Card
Manufactured for: First Data/Cohn Restaurant Group

Finalist: Oberthur Technologies America Corp.
For: the Miss Kitty Card
Manufactured for: China Merchants Bank

Finalist: Canadian Bank Note Company Limited
For: the Saskatchewan Identification Card
Manufactured for: Saskatchewan Government Insurance

The People’s Choice Award was selected by on-site delegates. The recipients are as follows:

People’s Choice

Winner: ABNote Canada
For: the Air Canada Super Elite and Elite Luggage Tag Card
Manufactured for: Draft FCB Montreal

Finalist: Sustainable Cards
For: the Scandic Card
Manufactured for: Scandic Hotels

Finalist: CPI Card Group
For: the Chase Slate Card
Manufactured for: Chase Bank

For more information on ICMA, contact Lynn McCullough at 609-799-4900 or email LMccullough@icma.com.

###

About the Élan Awards
In the global arena of world-class cards, the ICMA Élan Awards for Card Manufacturing Excellence are the pinnacle of design innovation and technical achievement. Past recipients have included leading card manufacturers from around the globe. Winners of this prestigious competition tap the power of industry recognition and promotional opportunity.

About ICMA
Based in Princeton Junction, NJ, USA, ICMA is a non-profit association of plastic card manufacturers, personalizers, issuers and related industry participants. With more than 240 members globally, the ICMA acts as a clearinghouse for industry issues, including the production, technology, application, security and environmental issues of plastic cards. Visit www.icma.com for more information.