Interview with Tönnjes Management Board Members Jochen Betz and Olaf Renz!
The German company Tönnjes is a specialist in vehicle identification. More than 50 million license plates are produced every year. In 2010, Tönnjes delivered the first RFID license plates to Latvia, and the first RFID windshield label to Peru. Since then, Tönnjes has implemented new projects in North and South America, Asia, Africa and Europe.
In this interview, Jochen Betz and Olaf Renz, members of the Tönnjes Management Board, provide insights into the market development of RFID license plate production.
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Trends in RFID Vehicle Identification
What are the main features of an RFID license plate?
Olaf Renz: The IDePLATE has an integrated UcodeDNA RFID chip from NXP on which a globally unique, cryptographically protected identification number is stored. This number identifies each vehicle accurately and securely.
What percentage of the overall business do RFID solutions account for?
Jochen Betz: RFID products currently account for a low double-digit percentage of total sales. This includes RFID license plates, RFID windshield labels and RFID headlamp tags. However, the aim is to achieve a much higher share.
How do you assess the market development of RFID vehicle identification?
Renz: Tönnjes is experiencing increased market interest for RFID license plates. National authorities are increasingly making new inquiries. In addition, almost every new project includes an RFID component.
Challenges for the RFID Rollout
How does the rollout of RFID solutions for vehicle identification differ worldwide?
Almost all countries see the need for vehicle users to share in the costs of infrastructure. Tönnjes focuses on emerging and developing countries. In these, there is often no infrastructure for vehicle identification. This simplifies the rollout of state-of-the-art identification solutions – and that is UHF RFID.
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In Europe, for example, camera systems are usually used for vehicle identification. Changing technology or retrofitting with RFID is more costly than using RFID from the start.
What are the biggest challenges for the RFID rollout for customers?
Renz: RFID vehicle identification involves not only the license plate, but also other systems. This includes IT, for example. This covers several areas of responsibility for the authorities. The rollout is therefore more difficult.
How does Tönnjes support customers in overcoming these challenges?
Renz: RFID projects can be implemented for specific vehicle fleets before a nationwide rollout begins. Here, the specifications are different in each country. Tönnjes obtains a comprehensive understanding of the system before any project is offered. This facilitates the rollout. After implementation, authorities are supported with regular communication, staff training and visits by technicians.
Contact the experts at Tönnjes and learn more about RFID vehicle identification!
Success Story: Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands State Vehicle and Driver Licensing Authority uses RFID license plates and security tags from Tönnjes.
70,000 vehicles travel the almost 800-kilometer road network of the Cayman Islands every day. With the world's first complete RFID solution for vehicle management, Tönnjes retrofitted all vehicles with the IDePlate RFID license plate and the IDeSTIX RFID security tag.
Tönnjes also programmed the IDeTRUST management software, including registration, management and readout systems. The result: a digital vehicle management system using RFID with counterfeit and theft-proof license plates as well as local license plate production.
