De La Rue is currently investing KShs286 million (US$2.9 million) in the expansion of its site in Kenya to strengthen and underpin its local operations. This is part of a long term investment of Ksh1.4bn to upgrade the site to become a regional hub for East Africa and the wider continent and a Global Centre of Excellence for De La Rue.
De La Rue’s Marketing Director, Robin Mackenzie says the huge investment in expansion of the site will standardise the firm’s global manufacturing footprint and increase its overall flexibility and capability. This has the potential to create more jobs and enhance Kenya’s high tech export capability. There are currently 300 employees on site.
De La Rue Kenya site in Ruaraka. The firm is currently investing KShs286 million (US$2.7 million) in expansion of the site in Kenya to strengthen and underpin its local operations.
Amongst other new capabilities, the upgrade includes the installation of a state of the art Komori Varnish Press and an increase to the overall factory size. Mackenzie says the Varnish Press will enhance DLR Kenya’s service offering and its technical capability to meet the increasing market demand for more durable varnished banknotes.
The design and construction of the building is being undertaken by local Kenyan companies and all support services were sourced via the strong local Kenyan supply chain.
“This phase of the project is on plan for completion early 2018 and has brought together approximately 100 skilled Kenyan tradesmen from the local area,” he says.
The state of the art new destruction system is being installed at a cost of Ksh51.2million (US$512,000) and will allow De La Rue to securely manage end of life note destruction and disposal in accordance with its world class ISO 14298 and DIN66399 certifications.
The Sh51million new state-of-the art granular machine that has been installed at De La Rue factory in Kenya. It will allow De La Rue to securely manage end of life note destruction and disposal.
It will also enable the firm to offer a complete one stop shop service to existing and potential customers, from design to destruction, in a highly secure environment and manage end of life note destruction and disposal for any banknote securely.
“The end waste product from the system is used as part of the De La Rue Kenya corporate social responsibility to the local community,” he says.
The Ksh28.7million (US$287,000) state of the art air-lock loading bay will also ensure the firm continues to meet its commitment to ISO 14298 and its Intergraf accreditation requirements. Its design and construction is being undertaken by local Kenyan companies is on plan for completion next month.
The DLR Kenya site has been manufacturing for 25 years, and was the first and still is the only site on the African continent to hold the highest level of security accreditation covered by ISO 14298.
For more information visit www.delarue.com/kenya
Ends.
For further information, please contact:
Sinead Keller - Head of Media and PR, De La Rue Plc | e. sinead.keller@delarue.com m. +44 (0)7584 155244
Erick Otieno | e. erick.otieno@corporatetalk.co.ke
About De La Rue
De La Rue’s purpose is to enable every citizen to participate securely in the global economy. As a trusted partner of governments, central banks and commercial organisations, De La Rue provides products and services that underpin the integrity of trade, personal identity and the movement of goods. As the world’s largest designer and commercial printer of banknotes, De La Rue designs, manufactures and delivers banknotes, banknote substrates and security features to customers in a world where currency will continue to be a key part of the developing payments eco-system.
De La Rue is the only fully integrated supplier of both paper and polymer banknotes, and creates security features that ensure banknotes are protected against counterfeiting. De La Rue is the world’s largest commercial printer of passports, delivering national and international identity tokens and software solutions for governments in a world that is increasingly focused on the importance of a legal and secure identity for every individual. De La Rue also creates and delivers secure product identifiers and ‘track and trace’ software for governments and commercial customers alike to help to tackle the challenge of illicit or counterfeit goods and the collection of revenue and excise duties.
De La Rue is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LON-DLAR). For further information visit www.delarue.com