De La Rue Bets on the Future of Cash with New Malta Supersite

After five years and an investment of c. €60 million, De La Rue’s new factory in Malta has been officially opened in the presence of the country’s Prime Minister, Robert Abela, and Silvio Schembri, Minister for the Economy, Enterprise and Strategic Projects. Described as a ‘supersite’, it will – says De La Rue – support the creation of world class, functionally excellent banknotes for the next 50 years and beyond.

A century of heritage

De La Rue’s relationship with Malta dates back to 1860, when it printed the country’s first stamps, and it became the supplier of Malta’s banknotes in 1918, remaining the sole supplier until Malta adopted the euro in 2008. It opened a purpose-built printworks there in 1975 (indeed, the island was the site of the company’s first overseas production facility) and built a second facility in 2008. In 2016, it announced it would create a Centre of Excellence for Security Print at the site as part of a €27 million investment.