Plasticard-ZFT

What Plasticard-ZFT does

Plasticard-ZFT GmbH & Co. KG is a privately-held German specialty manufacturer headquartered in Dresden that develops, produces, and personalizes plastic cards, chip cards, and RFID media for identification, access control, payment, and ticketing applications. Operating for over 30 years under a Kommanditgesellschaft structure, the company integrates licensed chip platforms from NXP (MIFARE Classic, MIFARE DESFire EV2 / Light, UCODE DNA, SmartMX crypto-processors) and LEGIC into a broad card portfolio that spans contact, contactless, dual-interface, combi/hybrid, and biometric-on-card form factors, alongside sustainable variants in wood, cardboard, and recycled PVC and specialty formats such as XXL, mini, transparent, and high-temperature TRW/Polycarbonate. ISO 9001/14001/27001 certification, MIFARE Advance Partner status, official Legic partnership, HID Silver Partner status, and VDV eTicket certification are central to its positioning with enterprise and government customers.

The business operates a hybrid B2B go-to-market combining direct enterprise sales, an authorized reseller webshop (web.shop.plasticard.de), two Kartendepot personalization-on-demand portals with SAP HR integration, the ausweiskarte24 reseller shop, and a lettershop mailing service. Revenue is generated primarily through hardware sales (blank and pre-printed cards, transponders, key fobs, printers, and consumables) plus fee-based personalization, encoding, design, ISO qualification testing, certified disposal, and managed on-demand card depot services; more recently the company has layered in software-based recurring revenue through the proprietary MyTag cloud identity/credential management platform (launched 2021) and FIDO2 passwordless authentication services (2024).

Customer concentration spans named enterprise accounts including Siemens, Bosch, Audi, ÖBB, Lufthansa, Bayer, DPD, and the Deutscher Sportausweis, with end-market coverage of corporate/enterprise ID, government and sovereign identity, healthcare, education (student/campus cards), transportation and logistics (eTicketing, fleet, car sharing), events and stadiums, tourism/hospitality, and retail loyalty. The most significant recent strategic actions are a May 2024 partnership with Zwipe distributing biometric access cards across the DACH region, parallel FIDO2 authentication capability launch, and continued expansion of the MyTag cloud platform; the company is managed by René Blankenhagel and Christian Reuther as Geschäftsführer with no disclosed external institutional investors, venture backing, or acquisition history.

Name

Plasticard-ZFT

Legal name

Plasticard-ZFT GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://plasticard.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Plasticard-ZFT is a German specialty manufacturer and service provider in Dresden that produces and personalizes plastic cards, chip cards, RFID media, and biometric access credentials for enterprise, government, healthcare, education, transportation, and retail customers across the DACH region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Plastic Card Manufacturing

NAICS

Stationery Product Manufacturing (32223)

SIC

Miscellaneous Plastics Products (3080), Electronic Components & Accessories (3670)

akta.pro primary industry

Card Issuing & Program Management Platforms (BPAMAFAH)

Keywords

• Plastic card manufacturing
• RFID card solutions
• Chip card production
• Card personalization services
• Secure ID media

Headquarters

HQ city

Dresden

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Card Manufacturing and Sales: Production and sale of plastic cards, chip cards, RFID cards, and ID media in various formats. Revenue generated through one-time product sales with potential repeat orders for replenishment.
2. Card Personalization Services: Visual personalization (printing names, photos), electronic encoding of chips and magnetic stripes, and on-demand personalization through online portals. Services offered as standalone or bundled with card sales.
3. Lettershop and Mailing Services: Card mailing, PIN letter production, and direct-to-end-user shipping services including daily postal optimized deliveries. Complete fulfillment service from production to delivery.
4. Reseller Webshop and B2B E-commerce: B2B online ordering platform for resellers offering exclusive online pricing, 24/7 ordering capability, and automated print data validation. Products include blank cards, accessories, and personalized card orders.
5. MyTag Software System: Cloud-based identity management and access control software system with NFC technology. Revenue likely generated through subscription or licensing model for the software platform.
6. Card Depot and On-Request Services: Secure storage of card blanks with on-demand personalization ordering. Customers store blanks at Plasticard-ZFT facilities and order personalized cards as needed through online portals.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Plasticard-ZFT manufactures and distributes plastic cards, chip cards, RFID cards, and ID media as a German card maker, while providing related services including visual personalization, electronic chip and magnetic stripe encoding, card mailing/lettershop operations, and on-demand personalization through web-based ordering portals (Kartendepot). The portfolio also includes software-based offerings such as the MyTag cloud-based identity management system and FIDO2 passwordless authentication solutions as extensions to the card business.

Product overview

Plasticard-ZFT is a German manufacturer and service provider specializing in smart card and RFID identification solutions 'Made in Germany' with over 30 years of experience. The portfolio centers on plastic cards, chip cards, and RFID cards (including Dual-Interface, Combi/Hybrid, and Biometric Access Cards via Zwipe partnership) as the core hardware products. Supporting products include RFID transponders/key fobs, eco-cards (wooden, cardboard, recycle), high-temperature/TRW cards, and ID card accessories (printers, cases, lanyards, clips). The service layer includes visual personalization and encoding services, card mailing/lettershop operations, Kartendepot on-demand ordering portals, design/layout services, card management consulting, ID-card logistics, ISO qualification testing, and certified disposal. Cloud services include MyTag (identity verification, location tracking, credential management via NFC/OTP) and FIDO2 authentication for passwordless physical and logical access. The company serves diverse sectors including corporate ID, government/sovereign ID, healthcare, education (campus/student cards), transportation (VDV eTicketing, parking, charging, car sharing), events/stadiums, tourism/hospitality, and security applications. Key technology partnerships include Zwipe (biometric), HID (access), MIFARE, LEGIC, and NXP (chips).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MyTag: Cloud-based software system for identity verification, location tracking, and management of permissions, certificates, and compliance.

Products and services

• Plastic Cards / Chip Cards

Quantifiable outcome

• Card delivery in 24 hours possible for digital printing express orders
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• ZwipeflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2024Plasticard-ZFT partnered with Zwipe to distribute biometric access cards in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The partnership enables Plasticard-ZFT to offer Zwipe Access biometric fingerprint cards which provide two-factor authentication with biometric data stored securely on-card. Zwipe Access suppresses the need for centralized biometrics databases, enhancing data privacy for cardholders.
• NXP SemiconductorscoreTechnology or IntegrationNXP Semiconductors is the primary chip technology provider for Plasticard-ZFT, supplying MIFARE DESFire, MIFARE Classic, UCODE DNA, and SmartMX chips for integration into card products. The company holds MIFARE Advance Partner status.
• LegiccoreTechnology or IntegrationOfficial Legic Partner for LEGIC RFID technology integration in card products.
• HID GlobalcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAdvantage HID Silver Partner status for distribution and integration of HID access control products.
• Verband Deutscher Verkehrsunternehmen (VDV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVDV eTicket certification enables Plasticard-ZFT to produce eTickets compliant with VDV standards for German public transport systems.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/plasticard_zft
• Facebookfacebook.com/Plasticard-ZFT-GmbH-Co-KG-100624148757623

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Plasticard-ZFT