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Who we are and what we do
Trovan, Ltd. is a privately held United Kingdom Corporation. We develop, manufacture and market radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, telemetric systems and delivery technologies. We also provide complementary software solutions and systems integration support for selected business areas.
Our network of partners and distributors provides a global presence in over 40 countries.
History
When Trovan, Ltd., started in the RFID business 30 years ago, in 1988, there were no commercially usable LF RFID systems in the market. Existing systems had short read ranges and primitive manufacturing methods. Incumbents in the market were not able to deliver product in a timely fashion.
A sustained, intensive development effort over two years lead to the creation of the TrovanUnique RFID system, which dramatically raised the bar for RFID system performance. Even today, the system’s performance characteristics: read range, read area, read speed, performance near metal and in high EMI environments are unmatched. The Trovan team developed transponders to be manufacturable and highly reliable, with a simple design and reduced number of components. The Trovan team had an additional, critical goal: a fully automated production process. Full automation is the only way to produce millions and tens of millions of transponders, and to ensure consistent product quality by eliminating the human factor.
The Trovan team had to develop new production techniques and new equipment to achieve that goal. They had to overcome major technical and supply chain challenges. For example, the total annual production volume of the extremely fine copper wire used to manufacture the antennas of the transponders was only 150kg, worldwide: totally insufficient for the company’s anticipated production volumes.
At that time in the watch industry, semi-automated coil winders existed, but their winding velocity was a slow 5,000 RPM . The team’s concerted development effort culminated in coil winding speeds of 40,000 RPM: substantially faster, and able to produce transponders in the volumes envisioned.
First in the world...
Trovan, Ltd. has been a technology leader in RFID from the start. Trovan was the first in the world:
- To introduce a commercially usable LF RFID system.
- To introduce laser sealed glass encapsulation in transponder production.
- To introduce biocompatible glass for transponders used in animal applications.
- To develop and use direct bonding technology in transponder manufacturing.
- To develop and use high speed antenna coil winding in automatic transponder manufacturing.
- To develop and use fully automated assembly of miniature RFID transponders.
- To develop and market a laminated access control card (as opposed to clam shell design)
Trovan, Ltd. has established a market leading position with respect to its technologies, and continues its privately funded research and development program to improve the performance and design of its products. The company introduces new and innovative products on an on-going basis and provides custom development services to corporate and government customers. As a result of its R&D, Trovan holds a broad portfolio of patents and other intellectual property. The company has long-standing relationships with a number of licensed contract manufacturers for the production of its transponders and readers in ISO 9001-certified facilities.
With more than 360 million transponders utilizing the TROVAN technology deployed to date in industrial applications around the world, and tens of millions more in animal applications, the Trovan technology and products are the choice for customers who demand quality.