Giesecke & Devrient America Inc history

1854 First banknote printed, with international orders following

By 1856, Giesecke & Devrient, as the company came to be known, had won their first contract for the printing of banknotes, for a ten-thaler note from the Duchy of Altenburg.

The partnership's reputation for quality work was confirmed at the 1867 international exhibition in Paris.

Until the foundation of the German Reich in 1871, G&D printed what were known as "Staatspapiergeld" (government banknotes) for eight German principalities, and banknotes for 19 private central banks.

Giesecke & Devrient had also added a number of Asian markets to its export operations, including the printing of banknotes and postage stamps for Thailand since 1891.

He died in 1900 in Leipzig.

1922 First commission from the German Reichsbank

In early 1923, Giesecke & Devrient received its first contract, for a thousand Papiermark note, which became known as the Giesecke Tausender.

The company lost some three-quarters of its facilities after Allied bombing raids destroyed Leipzig's printing district in 1943.

Giesecke & Devrient was reborn in 1948, starting out with a single small office in an attic, and no printing press.

By 1955, the company had won the contract to develop Germany's first Deutschmark-based traveler's check.

An important expansion for the company came in 1958, when it set up operations in Mexico.

The Louisenthal paper mill in Gmund am Tegernsee was purchased in 1964.

1968 Development of the eurocheque system

In 1975, the company introduced an automatic currency processing system.

The heightened security offered by the system, launched in 1979, helped bank cards gain a new level of acceptance.

1981 Production of the first chip cards commissioned by French banks and the German Bundespost

In 1984, G&D launched the first series of telephone cards for Deutsche Bundespost.

The German reunification in 1989 brought the company back to East Germany, with the acquisition of Papierfabrik Konigstein, outside of Dresden.

The SIM soon became an important feature of the cellular telephone market, with the first commercial rollout of a SIM-based telephone in 1991.

When the European Central Bank commissioned 15 printing works to produce euros in 1999, G+D was the company that printed the largest volume of these, due to its high skill level and flexibility.

In 2000, Giesecke+Devrient established its North American headquarters in Dulles, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C.

G&D had also become one of the core group of printers responsible for developing and printing the new European currency, the Euro, launched on a full scale in 2001.

In October 2002, Giesecke+Devrient, along with the Information Security Group, Royal Holloway, University of London and Vodafone set up the Smart Card Centre, which is part of the ISG at Royal Holloway.

At the same time, the company launched the first UniverSIM cards for the new 3G mobile telephone networks launched in Europe in 2003.

2004 Passports with chips become available

Karsten Ottenberg has served as company chairman and CEO since 2005.

"G&D Opens Chip Card Site in India," Europe Intelligence Wire, August 26, 2006.

The BPS® M7 banknote processing system was released in 2009.

In 2012, Giesecke+Devrient closed its Banknote Printing Operation in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

2015 Veridos GmbH founded – a joint venture with Bundesdruckerei, Berlin

In 2017, Giesecke+Devrient joined the Verimi identification platform, which together with more than a dozen well-known German and foreign companies, offers a portal for the protection of digital identity and personal data.

In April 2018, the previous Giesecke & Devrient GmbH (G&D) was renamed to Giesecke+Devrient GmbH (G+D) as the mother company.