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www.investhk.gov.hk
Engineering to Foil Fraud
Austrian security features company Hueck Folien has launched a local sales subsidiary in Hong
Kong to promote its high-tech solutions for banknotes, value documents and passports
Business is done on the basis of trust in Asia, with many
customers preferring to deal directly with a company
rather than through an agent, according to Ueli Tschupp-
Lambert, Regional Sales Director of Hueck Folien. “It is
imperative, therefore, to have staff on the ground that
can devote the time to build the personal relationships
necessary,” he said.
Hueck Folien from Austria was set up as a film converting
plant with many different converting technologies, one
of them being the aluminium web coating process. The
metallised foil is used for labels, decoration, insulation,
technical specialties and security features. As a leading
supplier of technical films and security features, Hueck
Folien now produces a range of products including security
and window threads, hologram stripes, tear tapes and
security foils for identification documents and banknotes.
It is a market leader in the manufacture of window threads
and is responsible for supplying them to many of the
world’s currencies; it also produces the hologram stripe
used for example in Eurosystem.
In 2005, the company started marketing and selling its
products direct to end users such as central banks and
governments. Its sales office in Germany is responsible
for worldwide sales and marketing and the company
largely focused on the European market and their local
converters. In 2009 after attending a security printing
exhibition in Asia and meeting Tschupp-Lambert the
company’s CEO Dr Martin Bergsmann appointed him to
head its first overseas sales office in Hong Kong.
The Centre of Operations
Tschupp-Lambert spent his childhood in Hong Kong.
After graduating in Switzerland and spending four
years in Taiwan and two in Korea, he was able to move
back to Hong Kong in 2000. What was his reason? “I
love the Hong Kong lifestyle.”
He has a long history in the security printing sector and
extensive knowledge of Asia Pacific. In his role as regional
sales director he spends between 50-80 percent of his
time travelling throughout the region to identify the next
business opportunity and ensure that Hueck Folien’s
security features are part of the specifications, whether for
a new banknote, driving licence or passport. Such large
Hueck Folien Fast Facts
• Hueck Folien was founded as a subsidiary of
Hueck & Cie, Germany in 1969
• Since 2007 Hueck Folien has been an independent
family owned company and it is now one of several
companies under the Hueck Family Group based
in Germany
• The group’s turnover is €4 billion and it employs
30,000 staff worldwide
• Hueck Folien has a turnover of €40 million and
employs 230 staff
• At the beginning of 2010 it opened a new sales
subsidiary in Hong Kong to market its security
features in Asia
projects can be worth US$5-10 million, with contracts that
may last for five years or more.
“Hong Kong was the obvious choice as a regional sales
operation because it’s on the doorstep of Mainland
China and the heart of Asia, where there’s a real need for
sophisticated anti-counterfeit products. All the key capital
cities in Asia where my customers are based are less than
three hours’ flight time away,” Tschupp-Lambert said.
“This business is all about trust and confidence. If you
aren’t in the same time zone and only visit a client once
a year you are not taken seriously.”
www.hueck-folien.hk