Company chronicle

From 1994: The road to privatisation

 

The first step towards privatisation
In 1994, the German government decided to convert Bundesdruckerei to a private company with the federal government initially as the sole shareholder. Private investors were then to follow. On 1 July 1994, Bundesdruckerei became a private limited company (GmbH).

The production of ID documents remained the focus of Bundesdruckerei's activities. In response to the growing digitisation of sensitive data and in order to expand the company's know-how for the use of electronic cryptography systems, Bundesdruckerei GmbH acquired 51% of the shares in Holographic Systems GmbH. Since 1997, this has enabled the company to deliver up to 70,000 fully digitised ID cards and passports every day to around 6,500 registration offices in Germany.

Introduction of the EU driving licence card
At the same time, Bundesdruckerei was awarded the contract for the production and logistic project management for the introduction of the European driving licence card in Germany. The United States Patent and Trademark Office developed the "First Page Data Base" patent information program in co-operation with the Bundesdruckerei experts in Berlin.

Enhanced security concepts
The year 1998 was another milestone on the journey from a classical printing house to an internationally successful supplier of high-security technologies. Together with Debis-Systemhaus GmbH, Bundesdruckerei established D-TRUST GmbH. As the first accredited German trust center, this new company supplements the complex security services offered by Bundesdruckerei and provides both customised certification services as well as comprehensive consultancy and solution concepts for the digital signature.

Expansion of international business
As international activities increased, Bundesdruckerei founded in 1999 BIS Bundesdruckerei International Services GmbH to look after international large-scale projects. In the same year, Bundesdruckerei acquired 91% of Munich-based Maurer Electronics GmbH which develops and sells electronic and precision-engineering devices for forge-proof personalisation of documents.

Preparations for the launch of the euro
In the final year of the "old" millennium, a new course was also set for banknote production at Bundesdruckerei. Starting on 1 January 2002, the new euro banknotes were to be issued as part of the European Monetary Union. Bundesdruckerei was commissioned to produce the German banknote series according to the specifications of the European Central Bank. In the two years that followed, Bundesdruckerei invested more than 55 million euro in a new banknote production line which is today still considered to be one of the most advanced lines of its kind world-wide.