There has been growth throughout the RFID field, as the use of tagging in areas as diverse as airport luggage, concerts, cold chain management and toll ways show growth. IDTechEx places sales of RFID to have reached more than $5 billion in 2010, with much more growth expected. The largest potential market is item level tagging, and more retailers are showing interest in utilizing RFID systems.

There are countless examples of the retail market using RFID in innovative ways. One of the most interesting examples is the new Coca-Cola Freestyle machine, which allows customers to essentially make their own sodas by combining a number of flavors and syrups. RFID chips supplied by Impinj monitor the more than 100 flavors to determine when refilling is required; Burger King is launching more than 800 of these machines and recommending that its more than 7,000 franchises all use Freestyle machines.

As a result of this growth, there are financial moves in place within the RFID market. UPM RFID, part of UPM-Kymmene Corporation and a major supplier of UHF tags and inlays, sold its RFID business to SMARTRAC in December. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, with closing anticipated in the first quarter of 2012. In addition, UPM will acquire approximately 10.6 percent of SMARTRAC.

Based in The Netherlands, SMARTRAC is a global leader in RFID inlays for electronic passports (ePassports), contactless credit cards and RFID transponders for public transport applications. This allows SMARTRAC to expand its product portfolio and geographic presence.

“The transaction will provide us with a strong product offering for NFC and UHF RFID tags and inlays and will furnish us with favorable additional manufacturing capacities in strategically important markets,” said Dr. Christian Fischer, CEO of SMARTRAC.

Identive Group has been a leader in gathering RFID manufacturers in its group. Originally SCM Microsystems, Inc., Identive Group has acquired, in the past 21 months, Hirsch Electronics Corporation, Bluehill ID (which included ACiG Technology, Arygon, Multicard, Syscan ID and TagStar Systems), RockWest Technology Group, FCI Smartag Pte. Ltd. and idOnDemand, Inc.

Impinj, a Seattle, WA-based leader in UHF tags and readers, filed for an IPO in April 2011, reportedly looking to raise $100 million in its offering. The company sold more than 900 million UHF tags in 2010 alone, according to reports, and is likely to trigger further interest in RFID specialists to consider their own IPOs.

Alien Technology, Morgan Hill, CA, has also been active; a leader in UHF tags and readers, announced that it closed an additional $15 million equity financing to expand company operations in November.

In addition, major manufacturers continue to announce product advancements. In recent months, Avery Dennison RFID has brought out its new ultra-small AD-110m5 inlay, featuring an Impinj Monza 5 chip.

From the printed electronics (PE) viewpoint, companies such as Kovio and PST Sensors, among others, are developing printed tags at less cost than RFID systems. It remains to be seen when and where PE will make its move in the RFID space.