Global Hologram Trade Body Targets China Growth in New Move

The global trade body representing hologram producers and suppliers has launched a new initiative to raise its profile in China and promote the benefits of the technology to brand owners.

The International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA) will be targeting manufacturers, and secured document issuers and printers to explain the advantages of working with its member companies.

This will help them to improve authentication strategies and protect documents and branded goods such as tobacco, alcohol, medicines and pharmaceuticals and luxury items against the threat of piracy and counterfeiting.

Eddie Wong of Eton Technologies, based in Guangzhou, has been appointed as the new co-ordinator to lead the project for the IHMA, which has four members in China but expects to see this expand further.

The Association also has members from Europe, Asia and North America who are producing custom holograms for Chinese brands and security applications.

One of the first projects will be to gather information about hologram programmes in the country, creating a set of case studies which show how holograms made by IHMA members have successfully been used in many different applications.

Another move will see a dedicated website for China come on stream describing the IHMA and its work in the hologram industry in Mandarin. Printed publicity materials for brand owners and security applications will also be produced in Mandarin, which will also be adapted from the IHMA’s standard materials in English.

The International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA) is made up of more than 90 of the world's leading hologram companies.

Members are the leading producers and converters of holograms for banknote security, anti-counterfeiting, brand protection, packaging, graphics and other commercial applications around the world and actively cooperate to maintain the highest professional, security and quality standards.

Eton, which is a facilitator of trade between China and foreign countries, has established holography as one of its specialist areas, orchestrating the import and installation at Chinese companies of items of hologram production equipment from western manufacturers, including an installation for the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation.

Based in Guangzhou, the company is well placed at the heart of one of the main groups of hologram producers and brand owners in China, with clusters of applications around Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou/Shenzhen.

Eddie Wong sees the IHMA involvement and initiative as an important contribution to the continuing development of the hologram industry in China, adding:

“With more than 15 years involvement in the Chinese hologram industry, I recognise that raising awareness of the IHMA in the country, and encouraging more Chinese brand owners to select IHMA member as their suppliers, will help them combat counterfeiting.

“Furthermore, pushing for more Chinese producers in the Association will improve their integration in to the global hologram industry, stimulating dialogue and trade across our border, which is a needed progression for the industry here.”