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# Fact brief: Were some Pokemon cards produced in South Dakota?
- URL: https://www.sdnewswatch.org/fact-brief-pokemon-cards-howard-south-dakota-millenium-group/
- Published: 2026-09-29T09:00:13.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-29T09:00:12.000Z
- Description: The trading card game is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2026 and is more popular than ever.
- Author: Michael Klinski

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cb/ab/cbabab5e-2dc6-462c-94a0-b72956c0d224/content/images/2025/01/WhiteFACT-BRIEF--500-x-200-px--2-1-1.png)

## Yes.

A plant in Howard, South Dakota, produced Pokémon cards in the early years of the immensely popular trading card game that features now-iconic characters Pikachu and Charizard.

PBM, formerly Wrap-It, packaged Pokémon cards by cutting, collating and wrapping them. An article from The Madison Daily Leader in 1999 said the plant was operating seven days a week and 24 hours a day because of the card game’s worldwide popularity. PBM employed 300 people at the time.

Pokémon is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2026 as the largest media franchise in the world, according to The Times of London. As of March 2025, 75 billion cards have been produced. 

After PBM was sold in 2008, the previous owner purchased Millenium Print Group (MPG).

From 2020 to 2023, Millenium operated a facility in Howard that manufactured and processed collectible and trading cards. Millennium was a major Pokémon Trading Card Game manufacturer and The Pokémon Company International acquired it in 2022.

ℹ️

This fact brief responds to claims such as [this one.](https://www.elitefourum.com/t/pokemon-tcg-set-credits/50879?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

### Sources

The Madison Daily Leader, [Pokemon: Get it before it gets 'hot' in the Midwest](https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1qrctpzhhSkkcVoeIJQzQuPM7c5o6y5xT?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

CNN, [Pokémon at 30: Multimillion-dollar cards and spiking demand. Here’s why you’ve still gotta catch ‘em all](https://www.cnn.com/world/pokemon-at-30-multimillion-dollar-cards-trading-spc?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

Raleigh News & Observer, [How a Triangle company became the primary US printer of Pokémon cards](https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article301020499.html?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

Heartland Energy, [Millennium Print Group setting up shop in Howard](https://heartlandenergy.com/millenium-print-group-setting-up-shop-in-howard/?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

### About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by South Dakota News Watch as part of the[ Gigafact](https://gigafact.org/?ref=sdnewswatch.org) network. Submit a question for us to answer[ on the tipline](https://gigafact.org/tipline/south-dakota-news-watch/?ref=sdnewswatch.org).

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**South Dakota News Watch* is an independent nonprofit. Read, donate and subscribe for free at*[ *sdnewswatch.org*](http://sdnewswatch.org/?ref=sdnewswatch.org)*. *Contact freelance reporter Michael Klinski:* michael.klinski@sdnewswatch.org.*