RFID & NFC Production in the Millions

Guohua Tao has been active in the field of smart card technologies as an IT software engineer since 1992 in a state-owned radio and TV equipment company.

On January 1st, 1995, Tao founded Huayuan as the very first smart card producer in China. The company was originally a branch of the company Shenzhen Huayuan, one of the eight companies listed in the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in China.

Tao rebuilt Huayuan a few years later with an independent new product base.

1. Mr. Tao, you founded Huayuan in 1995. What outstanding events or milestones have been achieved since then?

Tao: Huayuan has played an important role in many big projects in China since 1995. Huayuan was part of the first electronic ticketing project of line 1 of the Shanghai Metro that started in 1994. In 1998, we developed a management system with the first RFID card with the MIFARE chip.

In 2001, we provided the 2nd generation RFID cards for the digital personalization solution at HP. In 2005, we expanded our markets to Europe and the USA. In 2015, we expanded the production portfolio to include UHF RFID. In 2017 we provided RFID tags for a parcel tracking solution at Deutsche Post.

2. Can you briefly describe the product portfolio?

We manufacture a wide variety of LF, HF, UHF RFID and NFC tags, cards and antennas. Our product portfolio is divided into four segments. The first are the flexible flip bonding RFID tags. The second are the RFID aluminum antennas. The third are heat lamination products including smartcards, key tags, wearable tags, and NFC tags.

The fourth segment are plastic encapsulated RFID products like tags and wristbands. The highlights of the product portfolio are the RFID laundry tags, RFID industrial tags, the ECO RFID tags, silicone RFID wristbands and dual-frequency tags.

3. What production volumes are possible in Huayuan’s production facilities?

Huayuan has five production facilities in China. Our production facilities in Shanghai and Suzhou have a production capacity of over 300 million tags. Here, our flexible flip bonding RFID tags are produced. In Shenzhen, we have a production facility for the heat lamination products. Production capacity here is 15 million. In Dongguang, we produce our plastic encapsulated RFID products at a capacity of 30 million.

In 2024, we are planning the launch of a new production facility for RFID aluminum antennas in Jiangxi Province with production capacity of 30 billion. We also have a RFID development laboratory in Shanghai.

4. How big is the share of NFC products and solutions?

Although the NFC market is growing, its development has been hindered by competition from the QR code and other wireless IoT technologies. Nevertheless, we do see an increasing number of projects in the retail and industrial automation sector that use NFC.

Huayuan is one of the very first members of the NFC Forum. We also launched our pioneer NFC project with Zapa UK in 2008. We offer NFC cards, wristbands, keyfobs, inlays and tags that can be individually customized according to the application.

5. What kind of applications are possible with Huayuan’s products?

Our products are used for a multitude of applications in various industries, including identification, cashless payment, access control, event management, inventory management, sports timing management, smart ticketing, automotive parts tracking, and container management.

We are also now focusing on laundry management and textile lifecycle tracking.

6. What are the benefits for end users working with Huayuan?

We provide professional support to all our customers worldwide. Inquiries and questions are replied to promptly. Through scientific tests and verification processes, we provide our customers with high-quality products at a reasonable price. Quality assurance of all our products is guaranteed.

7. What is Huayuan’s goal for 2024 in terms of product and solution development?

We are aiming to maintain a growth rate of over 35 percent in 2024, building on the 100 percent annual growth rate we have achieved in the past three years. We will also continue to develop RFID tags and solutions for lifecycle tracking.

Huayuan’s industrial RFID tags are designed to be used in harsh environmental conditions. The rugged design renders them perfect for applications like industrial equipment tracking, manufacturing, automation processes, etc.

Key Facts:

• Durability
• Versatile form factors
• Easy integration and deployment
• Variable data processing

The HLT serial RAIN RFID laundry transponder is a flexible, tenacious, fabric strip-based RFID device that is resistant to heat, pressure, and stretches, and can be inserted or attached directly on textile assets for lifecycle tracking.

Key Facts:

• The capacity of mass production is 100k~1,500k pieces per day
• Various sizes available can meet most requirements
• Fit for stitching, heat-sealing, pouching

The experts at Huayuan have over 20 years of experience and know-how in flip chip bonding, aluminum RFID antennas, LEDs, and other electronic components and processes. Our RFID inlays & tags deliver stringent performance for different applications.

A new aluminum antenna production facility will be opened in Jiangxi Province in 2024.

Key Facts:

• Launched creatively designed ECO UHF RFID tags
• Different kinds of dual-frequency RFID tags with both UHF RFID and NFC

Huayuan’s silicone RFID tags & wristbands with customized printed logo can be embedded with LF/HF/NFC/UHF transponders. The tags and wristbands are an ideal solution for membership management, cashless payment, access control, tracking, identification, etc.

Key Facts:

• Thousands upon thousands of wearable RFID in over two decades
• Massive production capacities and development of custom RFID/NFC transponders