SSP appointed as partner by Swiss firm for its Asian expansion
SSP's Dato' Zaid Ibrahim (third from right) with SEAC/SARD's Marco Isenschmid (right) and Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs' officials.
Strategic Swiss Partners (SSP) has been appointed by pioneer Swiss Authentication Research & Development (SARD/SEAC) to work with the firm in its expansion plans in Asia.
SSP Global Advisory Board member, Dato' Zaid Ibrahim welcomed the appointment, saying SSP would now get down to building the Asian market for SARD Swiss Authentication products.
"Malaysia has been described as a very interesting market and identified as a potential hub to access South East Asian markets," Zaid said, when commenting on the appointment.
"SARD/SEAC is convinced that the SARD Swiss Authentication product line can be of great value to the Malaysian government and authorities in various areas.
"These include securing tax revenues from various sectors, fighting and limiting counterfeit activities as well as adding identification and localisation features to a wide range of products while providing accountability, security and identification benefits," Zaid explained, adding that legitimate global manufacturers and multinational companies across industries invested significant resources for R&D initiatives, to build brand awareness and strengthen the reputation of their products among consumers.
Combating counterfeiting, contraband and theft
Criminal activities like counterfeiting, contraband and theft are on the rise.
A 2014 study by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) estimated that the global value of all counterfeit goods had reached US$650 billion.
The study also revealed counterfeit products made up 7-10% of total world trade.
SARD's taggants, which are uniquely encoded materials or chemistries that are virtually impossible to duplicate, can be applied to all materials and products especially beneficial to the industries that require customised authentication and product-oriented solutions.
Among these materials and products are:
• Consumer Goods
• Medical or Pharmaceutical Products
• Official Documents i.e. identification documents, passports, industrial components etc.
For the development and verification of new technologies, SARD utilises synergies with their partner EMPA (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Nano Technology).
