Ultra announces that it has been awarded a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category. The award is for the Magicard Alto range of identity card printers designed and supplied by Ultra’s Manufacturing Card Systems business in Weymouth.

This prestigious award was approved by Her Majesty the Queen following a recommendation from the Prime Minister. The award is announced today on the occasion of the Queen’s birthday. The award will be formally conferred by a grant of appointment which will be presented to Ultra by the Lord Lieutenant of Dorset later in the year.

Ultra was chosen to receive the award because of its innovation in developing a family of low cost printers which enable the creation of full colour, plastic identity cards or badges using a personal computer and without specialist training. Ultra’s new family of printers uses innovative electronic and plastics technology to reduce the cost of printing and to bring the technology within the reach of schools, clubs and small businesses for the first time. Ultra sells several thousand Magicard printers throughout the world each year and also supplies the colour film that allows the thermal printing process to produce photographic image quality.

The printers utilise patented anti-counterfeiting technology including customised watermarks printed across the face of the card to improve security. They can also be supplied with magnetic stripe and chip encoders to allow the on-card storage of digital information.

These printers complement Ultra’s Magicard Professional printer range which is sold throughout the world for printing national identity cards, drivers’ licences and access control security badges.

Douglas Caster, Chief Executive of Ultra Electronics, commented:
“This Queen’s Award recognises the innovative features of Ultra’s latest range of identity card printers. They provide a very affordable way of proving a person’s identity with the ability to embed world-leading security features in each card.
The design and manufacture of security card printers is one of Ultra’s many specialist market niches. This third Queen’s Award for Magicard products confirms the creativity and international success of the team.”

Enquiries:

Ultra Electronics Holdings plc 020 8813 4321
Douglas Caster, Chief Executive www.ultra-electronics.com
Andy Hamment, Group Marketing Director information@ultra-electronics.com

Weber Shandwick Financial 020 7067 0700
Susan Ellis / Louise Robson

Notes to editors:

Ultra Electronics is a group of specialist businesses designing, manufacturing and supporting electronic and electromechanical systems, sub-systems and products for defence, security and aerospace applications worldwide.

Ultra, which employs 3,000 people in the UK and North America, focuses on high integrity sensing, control, communication and display systems with an emphasis on integrated information technology solutions. The Group concentrates on obtaining a technological edge in niche markets, with many of its products and technologies being market leaders in their field.

Ultra’s products and services are used on aircraft, ships, submarines, armoured vehicles, surveillance systems, airports and transport systems around the world. Ultra also plays an important role in supporting prime contractors by undertaking specialist system and sub-system integration using the combined expertise of the Group businesses.

Ultra is organised into three divisions as follows:

Aircraft & Vehicle Systems including miniature airborne compressors; high integrity software and systems; aircraft system electronics; aircraft cockpit indicators; aircraft noise and vibration control systems; airframe protection systems, armoured vehicle electronic information and control systems; human/computer interface equipment and shared working environment solutions.

Information & Power Systems including command and control systems equipment; weapons interfacing electronics; radar tracking; electro optical tracking; surveillance systems; naval data processing and distribution; airport and airline information management systems; ID card systems; naval power conversion; signature management of naval vessels; transit system power conversion and control.

Tactical Sonar & Systems including secure tactical line-of-sight radio systems, multiplexers and switches; voice communication systems; tactical data links; cryptographic equipment; active, passive and multi-static sonobuoys; sonobuoy receivers and processors; distributed surveillance sensor arrays; ship’s sonar systems; acoustic countermeasure systems and ship’s torpedo defence systems.