De La Rue had been regarded as the leading banknote paper manufacturer in the world, having manufactured banknote paper for the Bank of England since 1724. In 1997, De La Rue acquired Harrison and Sons, the stamp and banknote printers based in High Wycombe. The factory closed permanently in 2003. In early 2002, De La Rue took over ownership from Smurfit Diamond Packaging Corporation of Sequoia Voting Systems, a California-based company that was a large provider of electronic voting systems in the U.S., for U.S. $23 million. After losing money for three years in a business way out of the company's traditional lines,
Thomas de la Rue Thomas de la Rue Thomas de la Rue (24 March 1793 – 7 June 1866) was a printer from Guernsey who founded De La Rue plc, a printing company which is now the world's largest commercial security printer and papermaker. Born in Le Bourge, Forest in Guernsey to Eleazar de la Rue and Rachael de la Rue, maiden name Rachael Allez. Thomas was the seventh of their nine children. Thomas de la Rue was apprenticed to a master-printer, Joseph Antoine Chevalier in St Peter Port in 1803. He went into business with Tom Greenslade and together they launched the newspaper