Does SAP still love Delco? Yes, says SAP North America President Jennifer Morgan

Tom Paine

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Downtown Newtown Square

Update 8/21: In a letter to the Delco Times, SAP North America President Jennifer Morgan reaffirmed SAP's commitment to keeping its NA headquarters in Newtown Square.

"Delaware County and the greater Philadelphia area is our home and it will continue to be the home of SAP in North America even as we continue to grow, expand, and refine our real estate footprint across the U.S. and Canada," she wrote.




Don't know what to make of a SAP America SVP dissing Delco.

In an article in the Daily Local News, Brian Reaves, senior vice president and head of diversity and inclusion at SAP, seemed to suggest that SAP America's east coast center of gravity would shift from Newtown Square (Delaware County PA) to New York City, where the company is opening spanking new offices at Hudson Yards. He found about three different ways to say Delco wasn't cool enough to attract millenial workers.

One minor quibble: neither the original Daily Local article or the followup article identified the context in which Reaves remarks were made; the occasion, the reason for the remarks, etc.

“Quite honestly, kind of like what’s happening in Germany right now, although we’re in Waldorf, Germany, where we’ve now opened up Berlin, people start to see the major cities as - I think in people’s minds regardless of what the physical paper looks like, I would think they’ll start to brand us more tied to New York City. So, it’s pretty exciting, pretty exciting coming up.”

Reaves said that while Newtown Square would remain North American headquarters from a "legal perspective," in substance New York City would be.

Newtown Square, where around the corner from SAP the Foxcatcher tragedy took place (before SAP arrived). Which once hosted a PGA Championship at Aronimink, only to lose its last  opportunity to host a major due to lack of minority membership. Where I used to stare at cornfields from my office on the other side of Route 3.

But those things are in the past. SAP moved to Newtown Square from a location near the airport around 2000. Its changed, and even has some chain restaurants and a Whole Foods. And people outnumber horses. On the whole a nice place and a trendy and wealthy zip, but it doesn't offer much housing for young people and its true to say its a far cry from NYC.

The sense I get from the article is that Reaves was out of line, and SAP communications people pushed back against his comments, restating SAP's commitment to keeping North American headquarters in Newtown Square, which SAP says now houses 2800 employees. But no doubt there was a grain of truth in Reaves' comments.

Sunday highlights: Newtown Square-based My Alarm Center's new DIY division paying dividends

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Oberthur Technologies cuts EMV production time to just 5 days with its X-PRESS solution

OT CUTS EMV PRODUCTION TIME TO JUST 5 DAYS WITH ITS X-PRESS SOLUTION

Oberthur Technologies (OT), the No. 1 provider of chip payment cards in the United States, announced today the U.S. launch of its X-Press Solution which provides turnkey, expedited EMV-card supply within five days for card orders up to 25,000. OT is a one-stop shop for card issuers with large or small card orders at national banks, credit unions and community banks.

“OT’s X-Press Solution offers card issuers unmatched high-quality chip cards at a fraction of the standard lead time,” said Martin Ferenczi, President for North America at OT. “We thoroughly revamped our production processes to expedite chip-card supply based on feedback from issuers wanting to rapidly provide EMV fraud reduction benefits to cardholders.”

The X-Press Solution features full product support for MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover chip cards.

This market-first solution will be based at OT’s 100,000-square-foot ISO 9001 and 14001 certified Manufacturing Supercenter located in Exton, Pennsylvania, which has produced more than a quarter of a billion chip cards. OT’s X-Press Solution provides best-in-class card design and EMV technical support. A dedicated customer service team manages the entire process. Fully calibrated .pdf proofs are delivered within 24 hours and optional plastic samples in 48 hours. The X-Press Solution provides the speed, quality and service needed for flawless EMV migration.

OT globally has shipped more than two billion EMV credit and debit cards from its network of four regional secure manufacturing hubs and 39 card personalization centers. Having established its U.S. footprint in 1996, the company is the No. 1 provider of chip payment cards in the U.S. market. OT has been personalizing EMV cards since 2010 in its bi-coastal personalization service centers located in Northern Virginia and Southern California.

For more about EMV in the USA, visit www.oberthur.com/emv.

ABOUT OBERTHUR TECHNOLOGIES

OT is a world leader in embedded digital security that protects you when you connect, authenticate or pay.

OT is strategically positioned in high growth markets and offers embedded security software solutions for “end-point” devices as well as associated remote management solutions to a huge portfolio of international clients, including banks and financial institutions, mobile operators, authorities and governments, as well as manufacturers of connected objects and equipment.

OT employs over 6,500 employees worldwide, including almost 700 R&D people. With a global footprint of 4 regional secure manufacturing hubs and 39 secure service centers, OT’s international network serves clients in 169 countries. For more information: www.oberthur.com
Contacts

for Oberthur Technologies
Trent Freeman, +1 310-824-9000
tfreeman@olmsteadwilliams.com