SECRET Based in Vitré, the company Idemia manufactures more than 50% of the bank cards used in Europe, but also vital cards, SIM cards and permits driving
In the Idemia factory in Vitré, 400 to 450,000 bank cards are produced per day. That is more than half of the cards on the European market. — C. Allain/20 Minutes
- Born from the merger of Oberthur and Morpho, the French company Idemia is one of the largest card producers in the world.
- Half cards supplied by European banks are manufactured in Vitré, Brittany.
- The State has invested several hundred thousand euros to help the company invest and maintain this strategic production in France.< /li>
The name probably means nothing to you. There is however much to bet that you have one of their products in your pocket or wallet. Born from the merger of Oberthur and Morpho in 2017, the French group Idemia is one of the largest manufacturers of bank cards in the world. Look on the back of yours to see if the name Idemia is on it. In Europe, more than half of them are manufactured in its factory in Vitré, to the north-east of Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine). In cramped quarters, the structure which employs around 500 people will have to move in 2024 to expand and support the strong development of its activity. At the time when a good number of payments and administrative acts are dematerialized, the good old blue card has not planned to disappear. As the end-of-year celebrations approach, some of them will even get really hot. To find out how these everyday objects were made, 20 Minutes visited; Idemia’s highly secure factory in Glazed.
From the outside, the Idemia’factory doesn’t look like a factory. a top secret site, but you won’t find a window on its facades. To enter the manufacturing enclosure, we had to Parting with our camera, our phone and even our old connected watch. Prohibited to film. Before setting foot in the carpeted airlock; With an electrostatic coating that picked up dust from shoes, we had to prove our identity, check in and even offer our best mustachioed smile to snap a photo. Inside, the site sports the fairly classic features of a printing house. The smell of ink invades the nose and misters humidify the surrounding air. We innovate through color, material, colors that will be lodged down to the edge of a few millimeters. “We print on PVC. We need to maintain a humidity level. between 50 and 60%. The finish must be neat because the cards are the banks” brand image,” explains director Eric Le Quéré, in the noise of the imposing machines that never stop.
Armored vehicles to transport them
Here, three teams take turns to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and go out 400 to 400 hours a day. 450,000 bank cards every day. “When they are finished, they need to be dispatched quickly. We are not allowed to keep them for more than 24 hours,” continues the site manager. Ten to 20 armored vehicles leave each day to transport them to a personalization center where such valuable names and numbers will be recorded. “The law forbids us to do everything on the same site. When they leave from us, the cards contain only half of them. cryptodata,” said Yves Portalier, vice-president of Idemia in France. His company is proud to have been the first to use recycled PVC to design his cards, made up of four flexible pieces that must be cut out and then baked in the oven. approximately 100 degrees.
With its 14,000 employees worldwide, the group is not specialized; in the “CB”. It also produces vital cards, SIM cards for Orange, American driver’s licenses, passports and access cards to the Internet. many companies around the world. An ultra-competitive sector that does not know the crisis. Established on seven sites in France, Idemia has realized; a turnover of 2.2 billion in 2021. And hopes to do at least as well in 2022.
Why the State has invested in Idemia
In the Idemia factory in Vitré, some labels have been installed to signify that the state has invested here, allowing the purchase of machinery. Carried out as part of the France Relance plan, this financial aid aims to restore production independence to our country. “The goal is to maintain our supply of strategic services. This production is clearly strategic. To stay secure, it must stay with us, ”explains Didier Doré, sub-prefect of Vitré-Fougères.