In 2022, Tageos, a leader in the RFID inlay and tag segment, received a major investment from Fedrigoni and its owner Bain Capital, becoming the majority shareholder in the company. Fedrigoni is a major supplier of value-added special papers for packaging, publishing and graphics, as well as labels and self-adhesive materials, so the fit was a natural one.

Prior to the acquisition, Tageos was enjoying growth rates well above the overall RFID industry level. The acquisition by Fedrigoni Group was made with an eye on adding production capacity worldwide.

Tageos currently operates three manufacturing facilities: Montpellier, France; Guangzhou, China; and Fletcher, NC, USA. Currently, Montpellier has the largest capacity (5 billion/year), with Guangzhou (which opened in 2023) and Fletcher roughly on par (2 billion/year, growing to 4 billion by end of 2024). By 2025, Tageos plans to reach a capacity of more than 15 billion products annually.

In May 2024, Tageos held the grand opening of its expanded manufacturing facility in Fletcher, NC, USA. The facility currently produces 2 billion RFID tags and inlays yearly for the North American market; the ongoing expansion will double capacity to 4 billion tags annually. The Fletcher site has 20,000 square feet of manufacturing space, equipped with state-of-the-art production lines for RAIN RFID (UHF) and HF/NFC inlays.

“Our new facility is another strong pillar within the Tageos family and our global manufacturing network,” said Chris Hykin, Tageos Inc. GM, during the grand opening. “It brings us even closer to our customers in the US and all regions of the world, enabling us to even better support them with fast, highly efficient and sustainable delivery capabilities for high performance products and improved customer service.”

Karin Fabri, chief marketing officer for Tageos, noted that the expansion of Tageos’ manufacturing capacity is driven by growth – and, to be more precise, many different aspects of growth.

“First, we see the RAIN RFID and NFC market growth based on an ever-increasing demand for UHF and NFC/HF inlays and tags worldwide, with above-average growth in the North American market,” said Fabri. “Second, Tageos is fast growing at approximately twice the rate of the overall RFID market, resulting in a corresponding increase in market shares.

“And third, we see an overall, strong global effort across many businesses and segments to make supply chains more resilient and less dependent on deliveries from distant continents,” she added. “Finally, in an environment of highly automated, state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies, labor costs have become somewhat less important than the availability of skilled workers and reliable, high-quality products and infrastructure.”

Fabri noted that in taking all these factors into account, it was a logical decision for Tageos to further expand and continue globalizing its manufacturing footprint with a new production site in Fletcher, North Carolina, while at the same time expanding production at its headquarters in Montpellier. Within the USA, Fletcher was an easy choice due to its RFID “heritage”, proximity to key partners, universities, skilled personnel and other factors. There’s also potential for additional capacity.

“In line with further demand and continuous growth, we will also adapt and expand our plans for additional production sites accordingly,” Fabri added.

Fabri observed that the acquisition of Tageos by Fedrigoni benefited customers of both companies.

“Fedrigoni became the majority shareholder of Tageos in the first half of 2022,” said Fabri. “Since then, Fedrigoni has continuously supported the company in its expansion plans to further increase production capacities while entering new markets and serving existing and new customers better than ever before.

“In addition to these aspects, complementary customer bases and target audiences between the two companies further result in strong benefits for customers and market partners,” Fabri added. “There is a common and shared vision and understand of respecting the value chain to the maximum extent.”

Fabri pointed out that Tageos is strategically focused on nothing but RFID inlays and tags, which has helped lead to its fast growth.

“Tageos is on a clear and steep growth path, growing at about twice the rate of the overall RFID market,” Fabri said. “In this context, we believe that NFC will continue to gain momentum and market share. In terms of vertical markets, Retail will remain a strong and dynamic business pillar, with other segments such as logistics, manufacturing and construction, aviation and healthcare and pharmaceuticals catching up fast.”

The additional capabilities at the Fletcher plant will further the goal of creating a globally balanced manufacturing infrastructure, with all Tageos plants having approximately similar capabilities.

“Fletcher represents essentially the full range of our state-of-the-art RFID manufacturing, with processes and technologies largely like those of Tageos in Montpellier and Guangzhou,” Fabri noted. “The site in Fletcher is currently focused on meeting the demand for several high-volume RAIN RFID (UHF) products. With the availability of additional production lines and further capacity expansions, our goal is to equip all three current sites with the same high capacity and performance to produce the entire portfolio in unmistakably high ARC-certified quality.”

Fabri sees excellent growth opportunities ahead for Tageos.

“All indications are that the RFID market as a whole will continue to grow steadily,” said Fabri. “We also expect Tageos to continue to grow. Our ability to produce high quality RFID inlays and tags in large quantities regionally, close to the customer and at short notice plays an important role in this.

“Tageos has decided to take a well-calculated business risk with the new site in Fletcher and signal to potential customers that it is capable of fulfilling large orders on short notice,” Fabri concluded. “Others would say, ‘Give us the order and we’ll build the capacity – somehow, somewhere, sometime.’ Instead, we built the additional facilities in the US and China to deliver immediately, here and now.”