[NOTE: This article originally appeared in the December 6, 2002 issue of the "Southeastern Virginia Jewish News.]
An innovative identification card, which cannot be photocopied, scanned, or duplicated, is being produced by a firm headed by Israelis and located in Virginia Beach.
Yoram Curiel has opened the world headquarters for SafeCard ID Systems in Viriginia Beach. “We love the people here, the cost of living, the heavy military presence and the quality of the workforce,” Curiel told city regional, and state economic development leaders who gathered at his offices recently for an official grand opening.
Curiel, who served in the Israeli Army during both the Six Day and Yom Kippur Wars, brings his wife Judith with him to Hampton Roads. His four children and five grandchildren are scattered throughout the world. “We brought some Israelis with us to work here,” says the entrepreneur and engineer, “but we plan to hire most of our staff for the local area.” That number could rise to as many as 70 over the next few years.
SafeCard ID’s major innovation is a new holographic technology called “Selective Metallization” that prevents counterfeiting of ID cards and can be applied to labels, wrappers, and seals. “Some of the September 11 hijackers had bogus ID documents and used fake ID’s to board planes and rent vehicles,” says Curiel. “Using our process will prevent that kind of fraud in the future.”
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership, together with regional and city development office and the Virginia Israel Advisory Board, participated in the recruitment of SafeCard. “SafeCard considered Colorado, Maryland, and the United Kingdom as well,” says Ralph Robbins, VIAB Executive Director. “But they fell in love with Virginia and Virginia Beach. We hope this will lead to more technology firms with Israeli roots coming toi the state and area.”
