What ARE CON does

ARE CON GmbH & Co. KG is a privately held German B2B distributor and consulting firm specializing in smart card components, semi-finished products, and finished RFID/smart cards, headquartered in Oldenburg in a converted 1908 railway water tower. Founded in 2008 by Bernhard F. Wernberger and Rainer Rettig — former executives of Novacard Informationssysteme GmbH — the company sells the full range of inputs required for smart card manufacturing: RF inlays and prelaminates (HF, LF, UHF, NFC, and hybrid configurations), chip card modules from Microchip, Atmel, Infineon, Giantec, and Fudan, finished contactless/contact/hybrid/magstripe cards, PVC, PET-G, and polycarbonate foils, and lamination plates and press pads. Technical differentiators include customized hybrid inlay technology combining multiple chip types (e.g., Mifare+Legic, HITAG+MIFARE DESFire, EM+LEGIC, DESFire+UHF), custom antenna positioning, customer-specific resonance frequency and Q-factor tuning, and multiple antenna form factors (air coil, embedded, etched, printed).

The company operates a sales-led go-to-market targeting chip card manufacturers, government printers, authorities, system integrators, and resellers, with primary focus on the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) and a global footprint through partnerships with Asian card and inlay producers and exclusive DACH representation rights for Smart Packaging Solutions (SPS, subsidiary of the French state printer Imprimerie Nationale) and Cardel (UK lamination specialist). The revenue model is primarily one-time product sales of components and finished cards, supplemented by professional services revenue from consulting (tender support, procurement analysis, sales training, technical consulting) and personalization/encoding services. Pricing is custom quotation-based with multi-year contracts disclosed, and no standard pricing tiers are publicly listed. The team is described as a "small team of card professionals" with combined 50+ years of smartcard industry experience, with no public institutional investment, no disclosed revenue, and no subsidiaries. Marketing channels center on a multilingual website and trade show participation (Trustech, Cannes). The company is a member of the International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA).

Name

ARE CON

Legal name

ARE CON GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://are-con.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ARE CON GmbH & Co. KG is a German B2B distributor and consultant supplying smart card components, semi-finished products, and finished RFID/smart cards to chip card manufacturers, government printers, authorities, and system integrators across the DACH region and globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Oldenburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Component and Semi-finished Product Sales: Sale of semifinished products including high-quality foils, transponders, prelaminates, inlays, semiconductors, and pressing or laminating plates to chip card manufacturers and integrators
2. Finished Smart Card Sales: Sale of all smart cards available on the market in customer-required constellations
3. Consulting Services: Individual consulting for complex tenders, purchasing analysis, sales training, and technical consulting on smart card products and technologies
4. Personalization and Programming Services: Services including personalization, encoding, initialization, applet loading, and programming services for cards and RFID products

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ARE CON supplies semi-finished products including high-quality foils, transponders, prelaminates, inlays, semiconductors, and pressing or laminating plates to chip card manufacturers and integrators, along with finished smart cards in all required constellations. The company complements its product distribution with individual consulting services for complex tenders, purchasing analysis, sales training, and technical consulting on smart card products and technologies.

Product overview

ARE CON GmbH & Co. KG is a distributor and supplier of smart card components and semi-finished products, founded in 2008 and headquartered in Oldenburg, Germany. The company operates a multi-category product portfolio consisting of RF inlays and prelaminates (HF, LF, UHF, NFC, and Hybrid inlays) for contactless card manufacturing; chip card modules from major semiconductor manufacturers (Microchip, Atmel, Infineon, Giantec, Fudan); finished RFID and smart cards in various technologies; PVC, PET-G, and polycarbonate foils for card production; and lamination plates and press pads for card manufacturing. The product range is complemented by consulting services covering tender consulting, purchasing consulting, sales consulting, and technical consulting, as well as representation partnerships with Smart Packaging Solutions (SPS) for contactless security components and Cardel for lamination and chip adhesive products. The company serves card manufacturers, government printers, authorities, system integrators, and resellers, supplying all products needed for smart card production from raw materials to finished cards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Smart Packaging Solutions (SPS): High-security components for contactless and dual-interface chip cards and inlays for passport production. ARE CON serves as the first contact for German, Austrian, and Swiss customers.
• Cardel

Quantifiable outcome

• Competitive pricing through direct relationships with Asian card and inlay producers

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Smart Packaging Solutions (SPS)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorARE CON is the first contact for German, Austrian, and Swiss customers for Smart Packaging Solutions (SPS) products. SPS specializes in developing, manufacturing, and selling high-security components for contactless and dual-interface chip cards as well as inlays and covers for passport production. Located in Rousset, France as part of the French state printer Imprimerie Nationale.
• CardelcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCardel is a privately owned business established 20 years ago with a team of skilled engineers, designers, and production technicians based in the UK between Cambridge and London. Cardel conducts business in over 55 countries serving over 250 customers. ARE CON represents Cardel products in the DACH region. Cardel supplies lamination plates, lamination pads, chip adhesives, and prelaid magnetic stripe products.
• Asian Card and Inlay ProducerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation with Asian card and inlay producers that were qualified with help from ARE CON's founders during previous employment. These partnerships enable attractive prices and delivery periods while ensuring high quality standards.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Thales (Digital Identity & Security): Global digital identity and security giant (incorporating the former Gemalto) producing secure documents, smart cards, and identity platforms for governments and financial institutions. A dominant incumbent in the same payment-card and eID markets ARE CON's principals supply into.
• HID Global: Large US-based identity, RFID, and smart card reader/component manufacturer serving enterprise, government, and financial customers globally. Operates across ARE CON's chip-card and RFID components space but at far greater scale and portfolio breadth, often competing for the same government ID and enterprise access-program tenders.
• Identiv: US-based provider of physical security, RFID inlays, and smart-card components and solutions across government, enterprise, and consumer markets. Operates in ARE CON's smart-card / RFID niche as a much broader portfolio player with direct overlap in HF/UHF inlay products.
• Bundesdruckerei: German federal state printer producing passports, ID cards, and other secure documents. A core end customer in ARE CON's DACH government segment and a strategic counterpart to ARE CON's principal SPS (which is part of the French state printer Imprimerie Nationale). Comparable in mission to ARE CON's government-facing component work.
• Mühlbauer Group: German manufacturer of smart-card, ID-document, and RFID production equipment and components with global reach. Competes with ARE CON's principals — and indirectly with ARE CON — for the supply-chain tooling and components market serving card and passport issuers.

Others

• Infineon Technologies: German chip maker supplying secured memories (SLE family) and security controllers used in ARE CON's chip-card modules and finished smart cards. A upstream technology enabler and supplier rather than a direct competitor.
• NXP Semiconductors: Dutch semiconductor manufacturer supplying MIFARE, NTAG, HITAG, and UCODE chips that ARE CON integrates into its HF/LF/NFC/UHF inlays and chip-card module offerings. A upstream technology enabler and supplier rather than a direct competitor.
• Smart Packaging Solutions (SPS): French developer and manufacturer of high-security contactless and dual-interface chip card components and passport covers, part of Imprimerie Nationale (the French state printer). ARE CON is SPS's first point of contact for German, Austrian, and Swiss customers. SPS operates in the same product category (contactless / eID card components) but is a principal/supplier to ARE CON rather than a competitor.
• Cardel: UK-based manufacturer and supplier of lamination plates, lamination pads, chip adhesives, and prelaid magnetic stripe products for payment and SIM card manufacturers across 55+ countries. ARE CON is Cardel's DACH distributor. Cardel operates in the same smart-card production supplies niche and serves the same end customers (card manufacturers), but functions as ARE CON's supplier rather than a head-to-head competitor.

Regional players

• Goldpac: China/Hong Kong-based smart card manufacturer producing payment, telecom, and secure-ID cards. Operates in the same smart-card product category as ARE CON's principals but serves primarily Asia-Pacific volumes and is not a direct head-to-head competitor for DACH tenders.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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 ARE CON