MSL selected by Ingenico

MSL (NYSE: MSV) announced that it has been chosen by Groupe Ingenico as its primary worldwide strategic supplier and will provide global support for Ingenico's award winning line of electronic payment terminals. As part of the multi-year agreement, Ingenico's subsidiary Telesincro, located in Barcelona, Spain, will transfer to MSL its manufacturing employees with technical expertise in electronic funds transfer point-of-sale (EFTPOS) and secure payment products, as well as certain assets and manufacturing space. The Barcelona plant, formerly Ingenico's only internal manufacturing site, manufactures approximately 600,000 terminals annually, approximately 40% of the company's global demand. MSL will provide manufacturing, build-to-order (BTO), order fulfillment, and repair services to Ingenico from Barcelona and from additional locations worldwide. Ingenico, headquartered in Paris, offers the broadest and most complete range of electronic payment systems on the market today, including fixed, portable and mobile payment terminals, secure smart card readers, and related EFTPOS peripherals. A leader in bringing new technology to the retail market, Ingenico is the world's largest supplier of smart card reading terminals. The company's product line also includes the first wireless terminal featuring Bluetooth technology. According to the Nilson Report, Ingenico has been the world's electronic payment terminal shipment leader for three consecutive years, with a global market share of 24% of total units shipped and 61% of all wireless terminals shipped. Revenues for 2002 were EUR 430 million, up 10% from 2001. The company's stock is traded on the Premier Marche of the Paris Bourse. MSL is an EMS industry leader in system assembly, BTO, and order fulfillment, capabilities that strongly position the company to meet the unique needs of the retail environment worldwide. MSL supports multiple customers in the retail systems sector, including suppliers of point-of-sale (POS) terminals, secure EFT products, and retail security equipment, and also provides BTO and order fulfillment services for customers whose products are sold in retail chains. The company's specialized expertise and information systems enable it to manage large seasonal demand fluctuations and ship products directly to thousands of retail channel locations worldwide. "MSL has significant expertise in retail POS products such as electronic cash registers and industry-leading BTO and global order fulfillment capabilities that position them well to serve the unique needs of our business," said Gerard Compain, Managing Director of Groupe Ingenico. "In addition, their global footprint and strong supply chain management capabilities enable us to maintain economic competitiveness throughout the world. These capabilities combined with operational excellence and a strong management team make them a compelling strategic partner for Ingenico." First appearing in the early 1980's, electronic payment terminals are now ubiquitous at the point-of-sale in retail stores and in other vertical markets, including banking, petroleum, mobile commerce, government, and healthcare. An estimated 28 million units are installed worldwide, and the market is forecasted to grow 10% annually through 2010. Future growth is largely being bolstered by the increased adoption of new smart card, wireless and biometric technologies and the convergence of existing EFTPOS platforms to more open standards and system architectures, including the high security EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) payment transaction standards. Smart card and terminal migration with the adoption of new standards will require upgrading a large portion of the installed base. In addition, the application of Bluetooth wireless and biometric technologies is creating new market segments, including transportation, restaurants, and security/identity verification. "MSL's selection by Ingenico strengthens our position as an EMS industry leader in retail systems," said Bob Bradshaw, MSL's Chairman, CEO and President. "Given Ingenico's leadership in smart card and wireless technologies, this relationship enables us to participate in faster growing segments of the POS market and represents an attractive growth opportunity for MSL. This relationship is consistent with our strategy to leverage our system assembly, BTO and global order fulfillment capabilities and target segments with requirements that correspond to our strengths. We are delighted to enter into this strategic relationship with Ingenico and are committed to making it long-lasting and mutually beneficial."Source: PCBnewsline