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,
Rue de la Harpe it was cut short below the Boulevard Saint-Germain by the construction of the Boulevard Saint-Michel from 1859, it continued under more or less the same name until Paris' former 12th-century ""Porte Saint-Michel"" gate at the corner of today's rue Soufflot and Boulevard Saint-Michel. The rue de la Harpe's 'newer' westward twist above the rue Saint-Séverin owes its existence to first a ""bac"" footbridge crossing the river from its end, then the construction of the first version of the pont Saint-Michel from 1378. To the south of the rue Saint-Séverin, the rue de la Harpe has been known as: ""rue de