Océ set to develop innovative solutions in document management

Venlo, The Netherlands, 24 October 2007 — Océ N.V., a global leader in professional printing, is set to develop innovative solutions in document management in the near future. Océ is the oldest company in the industry and the only European player in digital printing and document management. With annualized sales of approximately EUR 3.1 billion and operations in more than 100 countries, Océ has made a profit in 129 of the last 130 years

Océ’s 130th anniversary is being marked by a symposium on 29 October 2007, which Océ is hosting together with the Venlo City Council and the University of Maastricht. Innovation is the central theme. Several keynote speakers will address 600 captains of industry and other guests on the issue in Océ’s home-town Maaspoort Theater. The symposium will be simultaneously broadcast by satellite to Maastricht, enabling innovative technology students at the university to follow proceedings first hand. 

The speeches will focus on the crucial role that innovation plays in government and society. Standing in for Maria van der Hoeven, the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, is secretary-general Chris Buijink, who will comment on innovation from a government perspective. British Telecom CEO Ben Verwaayen will address business model innovation in telecommunications and utilities. Hubert Bruls, the Mayor of Venlo – where Océ has been headquartered since its establishment in 1877 – will discuss the relationship between the city – as the printing hub of Europe – and its largest employer. And Rokus van Iperen, chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Océ, will detail both his company’s approach to innovation from the 19th to the 21st century as well as outline the status of document management solutions currently under development at Océ.

1877-2007: Four Waves of Technological Innovation

Over the last 130 years, Océ has played its part in developing new technologies, products and services for professional customers involved in information handling. The company has consistently entered new markets and changed its business model to stay ahead of its time in subsequent waves of technological innovation.

First,

founding father Lodewijk van der Grinten – a pharmacist – developed an edible coloring in 1877 that gave pale winter margarine the attractive yellow shade of summer butter.

Second,

his grandson Louis was instrumental in the company’s transition into the emerging reprographics industry, inventing a new ammonia-free diazo process for copying technical drawings that was less expensive and more eco friendly than the existing process. Known as “O.C.” (‘Ohne Componente’), the Océ diazo became very popular and launched the emerging copying company into the number 1 global supplier of monochrome printing systems for technical documentation that Océ is today.

The third innovative wave dates from the 1960s when Océ developed the Copy Press. In this process, toner is transferred by direct press, so there is no static build-up, a common cause of paper jams. With no toner wastage and far lower ozone emissions, this process was fully in line with Oce’s mindset of business beyond the bottom line – even before sustainability became fashionable.

The fourth wave – digital printing – now makes it possible for prominent U.S. daily newspapers to be printed on the spot and made available in Europe even before they hit the newsstands in New York. Océ’s largest digital book printers are able to print more than six million digital books on demand every month.

Stock-listed for half a century

In 2008, Océ marks another milestone – its 50th year of listing on the Amsterdam Exchanges. Opportunities for future development are considerable and Océ is positioning itself for growth in the market for color, high speed printing, display graphics, technical documentation, continuous feed systems, and state-of-the-art technology for doublesided “duplex” printing.

Meeting changing customer demands

Océ has traditionally counted its customers in their thousands – but done its utmost to serve them one by one. When the age of mass individualization dawned in the 1990s, Océ focused on developing printing solutions that provided efficient itemized billing information – bank statements, utility invoices, telephone bills. Nowadays, in the era of information overload, people are looking for ways to manage and access data efficiently – and Océ is again leading the way in meeting these changing customer demands. 
 
For more background information on Océ’s birthday party, visit 130years.oce.com.  

For more information, please contact:

Nick Gale
Manager Media Relations
Océ Technologies
Tel.: +31.77.359.5628
Email: nick.gale@oce.com