Card-issuing and personalisation equipment specialist Matica has entered a US joint venture to boost growth.

The AIM-quoted company, which designs and manufactures machines for issuing and personalising ID cards, credit, debit and smart cards, SIM cards, membership, loyalty and a string of other card categories, will not identify its new 50-50 US partner. But chief executive officer Sandro Camilleri says the new venture, Matica Americas, will enable the company expand its market coverage and support its US, Canadian and Latin American customers from a new base in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Matica (which lost £1.1 million last year on £10.4 million turnover) and its unnamed partner are committed to paying £750,000 over three years to fund Matica Americas. Camilleri claims the new venture, along with other recent acquisitions, will make Matica, already the second-largest worldwide producer of card-issuing and mailing systems, ‘a worldwide leader’ in card personalisation and mailing systems.

Floated at £1 last year, Matica shares fell to 27.5p earlier this month. Now 33.5p, up 2p this morning, they value the company at £3.4 million.    

Save 50% off your first year’s subscription to Growth Company Investor magazine, and gain immediate access to all the recommendations online. Click here.

Matica	AIM	£4.08m	40.50p	0.00p
Click here for interactive charting
Other company articles:
Matica ‘takes on the big boys’			06/10/2008
Interim turnaround at Matica			22/09/2008
Matica strengthens its team			04/09/2008
Matica in US tie-up			16/07/2008
Good reception for phone retailer			12/04/2007