About | Capabilities

Our credentials and capabilities

Portals is a truly independent global integrator of security features, supporting the production of more than 25 billion banknotes, 70 million passports, 60 million certificates, and 200 million brand labels each year, for use in more than 100 countries around the world.

Number one in the passport market and number two for the supply of security paper into the banknote sector, Portals has the capacity to produce more than 16,000 tonnes of high security papers and over 3 million km of security threads and foils.

Matt Weaver

Manufacturing Director, Banknotes

“We pride ourselves in our ability to consistently deliver high security, technologically advanced and beautifully designed products for our clients all across the globe”

factory

3 sites in the
UK and Italy

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4 paper
machines

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600
employees

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Established more than 300 years ago

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£25m invested over the last 3 years

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Longest serving employee: 46 years

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75% of UK employees live within 15-mile radius of our sites

Overton

Established in 1922, Overton Paper Mill operates as Headquarters for the Group and as their specialist site for the production of the highest quality banknote papers for countries all over the world. Also located at this site is our world class research and development centre.

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Bathford

Bathford Mill first made paper in 1809, and is now the only dedicated cylinder mould wood pulp paper mill in the world. The site has a focus on the production of papers for security documents including passports, certificates, vouchers and labels.

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Milan

With more than 80 years’ experience in developing and manufacturing high security components, our site on the outskirts of Milan uses specially developed technology to produce anti-counterfeiting features such as security threads, holographic stripes and patches.

Manufacturing excellence

Big enough to trust, but also small enough to care, the team here at Portals are experts with a proven track record of successful delivery and supply. We pride ourselves on our ability to be reliable and responsive, always enabling our customers to get the very most from working with us.

Each Portals’ site is devoted to delivering the highest levels of security.  Be that the physical security, safety and protection of our facilities; our exclusive focus on the manufacture of high security products; or our commitment to ensure our customers documents stay ahead of the counterfeiters.

And with a series of well-established, comprehensive and robust processes and testing facilities, employing traditional techniques with advanced information systems, you can certain that quality is absolutely paramount across the entire business.

Innovation

Portals has been supplying secure components to governments and the security industry for over 300 years. Throughout that time, our name has become synonymous with innovation across the banknotes and high security document sector.

We have pioneered a number of ground breaking new products over the years – from the first windowed security threads in banknote paper, through to a number of durability and security focused developments more recently.

These have included Dynamic™, Textmark™, Cornerstone®, Edgestone™ and Skylight™

Our ultimate goal is always to help our customers protect their documents. To do this, our approach to innovation is largely one of partnership, including working with subject matter experts to create new products and technologies, and licensing patents from other suppliers.

Our Markets

Our Accreditations