IBC EUROFORUM GmbH Press Release / First RFID World Forum starts in Frankfurt

DÜSSELDORF 16. 7. 2003 (Germany/ots) - IBC EUROFORUM GmbH isstarting an international series of events on the theme of RFID(Radio Frequency Identification). The first of the sixinternational conferences with an accompanying exhibition willtake place on November 24 and 25, 2003 in Frankfurt. Thereafter,the RFID World Forum will be organised this year and next infive other cities - Singapore, London, New York, Sydney und HongKong.

For two days, the RFID-Forum will tell participantseverything there is to know about the use and advantages of thistechnology. Top-flight speakers from the executive floors ofparticipating companies across all sectors will present theirsolutions and know-how gained from numerous RFID-projects. Theorganisers attach particular importance to networking: Theparticipants are invited to exchange experiences and views andto gauge the potential of the new technology.

The "transponder", consisting of a semiconductor chip and anantenna allows a product to be traced all the way from themanufacturer to the end user. The goods are identified by meansof an inbuilt chip without visual or physical contact, while thedistance between chip and scanner may be up to five metres.Every product can be located precisely at any time, an advantagefor numerous industries and sectors.

The high cost of the tags is a drawback: active transpondersare estimated to cost 10 to 30 euro (chip and button battery),while the passive variant costs considerably less, i.e., 30 to50 cents per item, but has a lesser range. Nevertheless, demandis high and the interest great: the Kaufhof in Cologne has beentesting the tags since the beginning of July, Metro has adoptedthe RFID- technology and is astonishing its customers: foods inthe trolley are scanned automatically on request, and the clientpresents his credit card at the exit, pays and leaves.

European Union (EU) guidelines will also help accelerate theimplementation of the RFID-technology. Thus, a new EU guidelinestipulates that as of the year 2005, goods must be traceable inthe delivery chain. Presently, RFID products and services areused already in nearly all sectors, in commerce, the carindustry and logistics as well as in health care and financialservices.

"The RFID-World Forum is the most important series of eventsfor leading managers in technical departments and strategicmanagement. The application of this new technology will havefar-reaching positive implications for the economy - and willalso help to decide whether a business will be successful in themarketplace or not. That is why the RFID World Forum has anessential role to play", according to Alexander Glos, ExecutiveProducer of the Forum.

For further information on the Internet: www.rfidwf.com

ots Original Text Service: IBC EUROFORUM GmbH Internet:http://www.presseportal.de

Contact: Claudia Büttner Press/Internet Manager IBC EUROFORUMGmbH Tel.: +49 (0) 211/96 86- 3380 Fax: +49 (0) 211/96 86- 4380Mailto:presse@euroforum.com

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