What Cardel does

Cardel is a UK-based specialist materials manufacturer, founded in 1996 and headquartered in Baldock, Hertfordshire, that supplies precision-engineered consumables and components into the global card manufacturing, secure identity, printed circuit board (PCB), and industrial lamination sectors. Its core product portfolio comprises lamination plates (Ultragloss UG1/UG2, ISO, USDS, US, Cardel RM, UM, UR, Through-Hardened), compensation heat pads (Cardlam 200, 220, 220 WS, 220 RS, 230 J11), chip bonding adhesives (Hi Bond HB2, HB3, HB70-1, HB70-B, HB-M, HB-MPV, HB-ACF1), DiaPlus diamond-hard separator plates, lamination cassettes, prelaid magnetic stripes, polycarbonate and core sheets/overlays. Through its wholly-owned German subsidiary VTT GmbH (acquired 2022) it adds high-technology security lamination plates featuring MLI/CLI lenticular lenses, VTT Iconiq (LED-revealable invisible security), holoPHOTIC nanotextured holography, MDI motion display, microtext and latent images for passports, national IDs and driving licences.

The business operates a direct sales-led, enterprise B2B model with quote-based pricing (30-day quote validity, Ex Works UK, 30-day payment terms), supported by regional representatives in the UK, Germany, Malaysia and the US. Customers include card manufacturers serving Mastercard, Visa, China Union Pay and American Express issuers, secure identity document producers, PCB/CCL laminators, and industrial users in wood, fuel cell, automotive and aerospace segments. Cardel reports that an estimated 50% of smart cards globally involve a Cardel product and that its adhesives are used in production of over 4 billion chip cards annually. It is certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, Mastercard CQM, Visa PBS, CUP, American Express, REACH and RoHS, and achieved EcoVadis and Intergraf CSSI certifications in 2023, with a King's Award for International Trade application filed in 2024. Cardel was acquired from its founders in 2015 and is currently a subsidiary of the Swedish industrial group Lifco.

Name

Cardel

Legal name

Cardel Ltd

Website

https://cardel.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cardel is a UK-based specialist materials manufacturer, founded in 1996 and part of Lifco Group, that supplies precision lamination plates, press pads, chip bonding adhesives, separator plates and security features to card manufacturers, secure identity document producers, PCB laminators and industrial lamination customers globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Industrial Materials / Lamination Supplies

NAICS

Laminated Plastics Plate, Sheet (except Packaging), and Shape Manufacturing (32613), Plastics Packaging Film and Sheet (including Laminated) Manufacturing (326112)

SIC

Unsupported Plastics Film & Sheet (3081), Electronic Components & Accessories (3670)

akta.pro primary industry

Label Stock, Inks, Coatings & Laminates (Materials Supply) (IMALAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Multilayer Laminates & Composite Structures (Solvent/Water/Extrusion Laminated) (IMALABAD)

Keywords

• Specialist materials manufacturing
• Card lamination supplies
• Chip bonding adhesives
• Secure document materials
• Precision lamination plates

Headquarters

HQ city

Baldock

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Specialist Materials Manufacturing and Sales: Cardel generates revenue through the manufacture and sale of precision lamination materials including lamination plates, press pads, cassettes, chip bonding adhesives, magnetic stripes, polycarbonate, separator plates, and related products to card manufacturers, secure document producers, and industrial customers globally.
2. Custom Solutions and Technical Consulting: Beyond supplying premium products, Cardel offers custom solutions tailored to meet specific customer needs, providing expert advice and hands-on problem solving as part of their value proposition.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cardel manufactures and globally distributes precision-engineered specialist materials for the lamination industry, including lamination plates, press pads, cassettes, chip bonding adhesives, magnetic stripes, polycarbonate, and separator plates. These materials are used in the production of financial payment cards, secure identity documents (passports, driving licenses, national IDs), printed circuit boards, and other industrial lamination applications.

Product overview

Cardel is a specialist materials manufacturer serving lamination sectors globally since 1996. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of precision-engineered products organized into four main service areas: Card Lamination (lamination plates, press pads, cassettes, chip bonding adhesives, magnetic stripes, core sheets/overlays for financial cards, IDs, and general-purpose cards); Identity & Passports (security lamination plates, press pads, cassettes, and polycarbonate for passports, driving licences, and national IDs through VTT subsidiary); PCB Lamination (separator plates, base/top plates, press pads, release films); and Wood & Other Industrial (press pads and plates for furniture manufacturing). Core branded products include Cardel Hi Bond® adhesive range (HB2, HB3, HB70-1, HB70-B, HB-M, HB-MPV, HB-ACF1), Cardel lamination plate series (Ultragloss UG1/UG2, ISO, USDS, US, RM, UM, UR, TH), Cardlam® compensation heat pads (200, 220, 220 WS, 220 RS, 230 J11), DiaPlus diamond-hard separator plates, and VTT security features (MLI/CLI lenses, VTT Iconiq, holo PHOTIC®, VTT MDI, microtext). An estimated 50% of smart cards made globally involve a Cardel product at some point in their manufacture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cardel Hi Bond: Chip bonding adhesives for embedding microchips into cards and smart products. Certified to ISO, Mastercard, Visa, American Express, and China Union Pay standards.
• Cardlam
• Ultragloss
• Ultrasilk
• VTT
• DiaPlus

Products and services

• Cardel Ultragloss UG1® Lamination Plate High gloss mirror finish lamination plate with no visible surface direction or grain lines. Available in various sizes and thicknesses with optional matt grip borders. Used in card manufacturing for premium finishes.
• Cardel Ultragloss UG2® Lamination Plate Medium gloss finish lamination plate with no visible surface direction or grain lines. Available in various thicknesses and sizes with optional matt grip borders.
• Cardel ISO® Lamination Plate Highly consistent silk surface ISO plate manufactured to present a high-quality premium finish while ensuring compliance with all international ISO standards.
• Cardel USDS® Lamination Plate High-quality silk finish plate receptive to Holograms, Thermal printing and Dye Sublimation printing while providing a premium look and feel to the card surface.
• Cardel US® Lamination Plate High-quality silk finish plate providing premium look and feel. Higher surface roughness than USDS plate. Compatible with all forms of cards other than banking.
• Cardel RM Lamination Plate Refined Matt finish plate with surface roughness between silk and full matt finishes. Features Ra 0.7-0.9 um surface roughness for sophisticated matt appearance. Suitable for RFID prelam applications and compatible with all card types except banking.
• Cardel UM® UltraMatt Lamination Plate High-quality matt finish plate providing a slightly coarse look and feel. Higher surface roughness than RM or US plates. Compatible with all forms of cards other than banking.
• Cardel TH Through-Hardened Plates Approximately three times harder than standard plates. Provides extra durability extending plate lifetime and reducing waste by preventing dents and scratches. Available in gloss and silk variants.
• Cardel Hi Bond® HB2 Adhesive Economical formulation adhesive designed for commercially challenging sectors. Used in GSM (SIM) card embedding manufactured from PVC. HB2-E variant has 50% bio-based carbon content derived from caster oil.
• Cardel Hi Bond® HB3 Adhesive High performance adhesive used globally by manufacturers of banking cards subjected to intense ISO and Payment scheme requirements (Mastercard, Visa, China Union Pay). Suited to PVC or PVC/ABS blends.
• Cardel Hi Bond® HB70-1 Adhesive High performance, long lasting adhesive developed for demanding identity sector where 10-year card lifetime may be required. Formulated for embedding into Polycarbonate and PVC Cards as well as some PET types.
• Cardel Hi Bond® HB-MPV Adhesive Newly released adhesive formulated for high strength bonding of plastic layers to metal sheets for Metal card manufacturing. Achieves >20N/cm peel strength ensuring no separation of card layers during use.
• Cardel Cardlam® 200 Lamination Pad Composite lamination pad designed for high quality lamination of all types of Credit, Bank and Loyalty cards. Provides smooth heat/pressure distribution and excellent pressure compensation. Durability of 2000-4000 operations.
• Cardel Cardlam® 220 Lamination Pad High performance lamination pad for Credit and Smart cards achieving increased lamination output volume, rapid heat transfer, excellent compression recovery. Durability of 4000-6000 operations. 10-15% increase in output achievable.
• Cardel PCB-NA Reusable Lamination Pad Reusable lamination pads for CCL and PCB lamination, replacing single use Kraft paper pads. Operating temperatures up to 260°C with excellent dimensional stability and uniform pressure distribution. Suitable for automated handling.
• Prelaid Magnetic Stripes Pre-laid magnetic stripes on PVC, PET, PETG and Polycarbonate overlay. Available in Lo-Co, Mid-Co, Hi-CO, and Ultra Hi-Co coercivity. Options include standard and bespoke Pantone colors, printed wording and logos.
• Core Sheets and Overlays Core sheet and overlay materials comprising virgin PVC, recycled PVC, PETG, rPETG, ABS, and PC in clear, white and wide range of colors. Available in reel or sheet format with various thickness options.
• Cardel DiaPlus Separator Plates Diamond hard separator plates offering industry leading durability and long life for PCB lamination applications.
• Lamination Cassettes Built for efficiency and reliability in card production. Designed to withstand high temperatures and pressure, ensuring accurate alignment and flawless lamination results.
• Polycarbonate Materials Premium polycarbonate materials for secure identity cards and passport data pages. Known for security, durability, and tamper resistance for long-lasting identity verification.
• VTT Security Lamination Plates High technology security lamination plates for secure documents including MLI/CLI lenses as fine as 60µm, VTT Iconiq invisible security features, holoPHOTIC® nanotechnology-based hologram effects, VTT MDI motion display images, microtext features, raised/inlaying textures, and latent images. For government IDs, passports, driving licenses, and citizen cards.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60%+ reduction in reject rates
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature10 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• VTT GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022VTT GmbH was acquired by Cardel Group in 2022 as a wholly-owned subsidiary. VTT is the global leader in high-technology security lamination plates for the secure document sector, offering the widest range of security features in the industry. VTT develops innovative security technologies including Iconiq, holoPHOTIC®, MLI/CLI lenses, and MDI motion effects. VTT operates from Langenhagen, Germany, and extends Cardel's capabilities in the secure identity sector.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• 3M: Diversified specialty materials manufacturer producing industrial films, adhesives, and laminates used across electronics, automotive, and industrial lamination markets. Comparable in product breadth across multiple of Cardel's served segments (PCB, automotive, aerospace).
• HID Global (Assa Abloy): Provider of secure identity solutions including RFID components, card readers, and secure document technology. Comparable in serving secure identity and access control markets, with potential overlap on polycarbonate-based card substrates.
• Covestro: Specialty plastics and polycarbonates manufacturer (formerly Bayer MaterialScience). Supplies polycarbonate materials comparable to Cardel's polycarbonate range for secure ID cards, and serves overlapping industrial lamination markets.
• De La Rue: UK-based secure document and currency printer serving passport, ID, and banknote markets globally. Direct comparable to Cardel/VTT in secure identity documents, though vertically integrated into document printing rather than supplying lamination consumables.
• Sika: Swiss specialty chemicals company producing industrial adhesives, sealants, and lamination systems. Comparable in industrial bonding technology and serves similar automotive, construction, and industrial lamination segments as Cardel's non-card businesses.
• Henkel: Global leader in industrial adhesives (Loctite, Bonderite, Technomelt). Competes with Cardel Hi Bond® in industrial bonding applications and serves many of the same electronics and durable goods manufacturers, though at much greater scale and broader scope.
• IDEMIA: Global leader in secure identity solutions (financial cards, identity, public security). Direct customer for Cardel's lamination materials and a benchmark for downstream demand trends in payment cards and secure identity documents.

Direct peers

• Avery Dennison: Global specialty materials manufacturer with a comparable position in label stocks, RFID inlays, and card substrates. Overlaps with Cardel in specialty materials supply to card and secure document manufacturers, particularly through its Smartrac RFID and specialty tape businesses.
• Toppan: Japanese security printing and secure document specialist producing polycarbonate ID cards, passport data pages, and security features. Closest direct peer to VTT subsidiary in secure identity documents, with comparable lenticular lens and hologram security technologies.
• Linxens: French specialist in smart card connectivity solutions including chip embedding modules and prelam inlays. Operates as both a customer of Cardel's chip bonding adhesives and an adjacent supplier in the smart card manufacturing value chain.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Cardel