Brussels, 19/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has approved the Dutch government's proposal to grant aid of EUR 22.7 million to Océ (annual turnover around EUR 3 billion with over 21,000 employed in 80 countries), a company that mainly manufactures copiers and printers for office and specialised uses, in the context of the research and development project (R&D) called "Cobalt", which covers colour inkjet printer technology in particular. A major player in the field of engineering systems worldwide (printing and photocopy), the company seeks by this means to strengthen its position and increase its related market share through the development of inkjet technologies.
The Commission has examined the nature of the research project mainly regarding Océ's earlier R&D in this field, the structure of the costs for the project and the current state of these technologies in liaison with market development. It concluded that research could be classified at least as "pre-competitive development" because of the technical challenges. It will act as an incentive for the company since R&D spending and Océ personnel working in this field have considerably increased, and there are high technical risks (the efforts made by Océ go beyond what one can normally expect from enterprises in this sector). Given that the eligible cost is expected to amount to EUR 95.1 million, the aid intensity corresponds to 24%. The ceiling authorised being 25% in the contest of pre-competitive development, the Commission approved the aid as it fulfils the requirements of these guidelines.