Zetes gets bigger in RFID with acquisition

Traceability and coding specialist Zetes has boosted its capabilities in radiofrequency identification (RFID) by acquiring Belgian firm RFIDEA, which has worked with the likes of GlaxoSmithKline and Baxter.

Discussing the move, Zetes said it sees "sizeable opportunities for RFID in a number of specific business applications," particularly in the traceability area.

RFIDEA's collaboration with Baxter focused on the application of RFID tags to bags and other containers housing its parenteral products as part of a project to organise and trace samples in the firm's R&D operations. For GlaxoSmithKline, the Belgian firm focused on tracking and monitoring batches of vaccines in pre-filled syringes made at its manufacturing facility in Wavre, Belgium, this time using 2D datamatrix codes.

RFIDEA's experience within the pharmaceutical industry is notable given that RFID's take-up in the pharmaceutical industry has been patchy - particularly for track-and-trace and supply chain security applications. Some traction is being seen however in applications such as inventory management, asset tracking and order fulfilment.

"Even though RFID has been hyped up over the last years, Zetes believes that in a supply chain environment, the technology can bring the right benefits in certain business cases, for example, in situations that involve reusable asset tracking or highly regulated environments," commented Alain Wirtz, CEO of Zetes.

Five people will join the Belgian Zetes organisation as part of the acquisition, which closed on May 26.