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jaargang 42, 4 mei 2000 English page

TUE-Holding Link University to Outside Business Can a university be a successful entrepreneur? Should it try to be? Many universities in the Netherlands, including TUE, think the answer to both questions is a resounding yes. In September ‘97, TUE founded a holding company now ‘parenting’ eleven innovative subsidiary companies. Turnover reached 11.6 million guilders last year, with profits after tax at 200,000 guilders. CEO of TUE-Holding BV drs. Ben Hiddinga expects to increase turnover annually by five million and help set-up a number of new companies every year, while selling off companies capable of operating independently. Hiddinga explains the thinking behind TUE-Holding. “As a university, it is our duty to make knowledge available to society. Our knowledge should not be locked up, but should be readily accessible. A university cannot be a closed institute. So TUE-Holding act as a clear link between TUE and commercial application of research and education. When a company’s link to TUE becomes less direct, it is time for us to sell the company in question. We think this process can be beneficial to everyone involved.” CEO TUE-Holding Ben Hiddinga ŇWe help researchers and staff with good commercial ideasÓ. Photo: Bram Saeys. Nursery TUE-Holding functions as a kind of nursery for technology research-related start-ups. “We help researchers and staff with good commercial ideas start their own companies,” says Hiddinga. “The holding brings financing and business expertise to the partnership, the researchers supply ideas for products and their use. About half of the serious plans we work on actually become new companies (Dutch BVs, a form of limited company).” According to Hiddinga, TUE-Holding really only provides the framework for new companies. All staff will be employed by the subsidiaries and profits are theirs. “Our goal is not profit maximisation, but results should be sufficient to survive and expand. Our profit is not large, and because of the nature of the holding, profit percentages will probably remain moderate,” he says. TUE-Holding have a rule of thumb that a BV active in the services market should reach a turnover of at least 500,000 guilders within a reasonably short time to be a worthwhile investment. This is different in the case of companies whose goal is product development. They will take whatever time is needed to create a product in collaboration with third parties. Investments are also made together with these outside companies. Most companies start off with 100% participation by TUE-Holding. Starting businesses at TUE-Holding initially mostly direct their efforts at the Dutch market, but many of them quickly market their products internationally. Active “I usually spend the most time on a company in their start-up phase. When everything is running smoothly, the company’s management and staff take over. Each subsidiary has a supervisory board and the subsidiary’s management meets with them about four or five times a year, and that’s it. Of course, if there are problems we will meet more frequently. By definition, new companies are extremely active, we don’t want to tie them down with too many rules and regulations. They need to be flexible.” TUE-Holding have quite a varied group of companies under their wing. They can be divided into three categories: contract research, continuing education and hiring out of staff. A short summary: AccTec BV exploit the extremely capital intensive new Cyclotron and Singletron equipment owned by AccTec and used by third parties and the TUE Applied Physics department. Calibre BV develop knowledge, products and models in the field of interactive visualisation, simulation, virtual reality and building computing science. Calipso BV exploit unique, extremely advanced facilities for the study of the outer layer of atoms in materials. EN Special Products BV are developing a high-speed generator with CC Nuenen and Elektromotorenfabriek Nijmegen. Euflex BV secondment of temporary staff and researchers within TUE, to the external job market and career advice. Euforce BV facilitate, organise and teach post-university courses. EUTECHpark BV facilitate technology-intensive business start-ups and exploit a business centre on the TUE campus. Studiejob Uitzendbureau BV are an employment agency who take care of temporary vacancies for the University of Amsterdam, TUE’s interest is 26%. TM/cc BV manage contract jobs at the TUE’s Technology Management department. UTI Eindhoven BV manage knowledge transfer and technology transfer projects to outside businesses, mostly small or middle sized companies. The most recent addition to the TUE-Holding stable is SyMO-Chem BV, founded last month. They focus on the reproduction of special macromolecules and expect to grow rapidly. Better Employment Contracts A specific advantage for foreign researchers in working for TUE-Holding rather than TUE, is the fact that employment conditions may be tailored to individual preference. TUE have general rules for employment contracts that cannot easily be broken. Commercial companies however, have more freedom. “For example, some foreigners may not want a pension plan. This will mean a higher income in the short-term,” says Hiddinga./.

SyMO-Chem SyMO-Chem is the newest TUE-Holding BV. Prof.dr. Bert Meijer founded the company together with Henk Janssen. Meijer hopes to reach an annual turnover of one million euros with SyMO-Chem within five years. SyMO-Chem are from the Macromolecular and Organic Chemistry department (SMO).