Océ
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Océ NV is Netherlands-based company that manufactures and sells production printing and copying hardware and related software. The company has around 24,000 employees globally and gross income of over $3.5 billion per year. Over a third of its income comes from the North American market. Océ headquarters is located in Venlo, the Netherlands.
Océ specializes in durable, high-end equipment, suitable for corporate publishing/reproduction centers as well as commercial printing and copying operations. Most of its equipment is high-speed (50 pages per minute and over) and has very high duty cycles (half a million pages a month and higher). It is also a leader in high-end color inkjet printing used for signage.
Océ arrived at its current business indirectly. It started in 1877 as a family business in manufacturing machines for coloring butter and margarine. In 1920, it started manufacturing blueprint paper, later developing methods of copying originals using a dry diazo process. The company was renamed in 1927 as Océ, based on the German initials O.C. for "Ohne Componente" (without component).
In 1973, the company sold its first plain-paper office copier. Since that time it has developed a wide range of patented technologies in printing, copying, and scanning. It has also developed advanced workflow products for help in preparing documents for printing.
Over the last few decades, Océ has made numerous acquisitions.
- In 1978, it bought UK-based Ozalid Group Holdings Ltd., developer of the Ozalid process of reproduction, and Océ’s the biggest rival in the diazo printing market.
- In 1989, it bought the plotter business of French company Schlumberger.
- In 1996, it bought the printer manufacturing division of German computer company Siemens-Nixdorf.
- In 2001, it acquired the Professional Imaging Division of Swiss-based Gretag Imaging Group, Inc., a maker of large-format display printing equipment.
- In 2005, it bought U.S.-based Imagistics International, Inc., a reseller of office copiers and multifunctionals.
