Gimmicks are fun, they are interesting, and they are new. They are also a well-accepted means of breaking into a market, and in many cases, gimmicks are considered big business. For

(source: IRC Network)

Keeping the competitive is often driven by the need to expand or improve one's technology. The purchasing of new machines for a Chilean olive oil producers was the first step in that direction. Yet

(source: IRC Network)

With IRC assistance, a Brussels based catering company not only develops a niche novelty, but gains an innovative method for printing company logos and designs for company do's and events on food products. In a colourful development having an original idea.

(source: IRC Network)

The wheelchair has brought a sense of independence and a certain level of freedom and mobility to many incapacitated people. Yet for the more severely physically or mentally challenged, the standard wheelchair provides little more benefit than the average bed. Tha

(source: IRC Network)

In an energy hungry environment such as large factories and industrial plants or buildings, knowing where your electrical faults or inefficiencies are could mean reducing operating costs and increasing money savings. Now, thanks to the IRC Network, a new technology is brought to the fore, that promises to improve the tracing and monitoring of such sources of electrical waste and provide meaningful data for analysis.

(source: IRC Network)

In an era of monitoring consumer behaviour driven by competitive marketing, television viewing has taken on a greater emphasis than ever before. Knowing what consumers are watching and how often they watch it is of critical importance. Provide

(source: IRC Network)

The food processing industry has, in some cases, considerable challenges in sludge recycling and treatments. One such challenge, found particularly in the production of olive oils, is its particular difficulties in dealing with the fatty substances in its waste products.

(source: IRC Network)

Refrigeration has often been considered problematic for recycling processes because older units have CFC emitting gasses and their insulation foam contains ozone depleting substances. Innovation in this regard, in particular automating recycling processes, has lead to a merger of interests through IRC networks that has blossomed into a nation wide success in Ireland.

(source: IRC Network)

There is an enormous chasm between being a regional or local concern and being an international interest. Most would never dream of attempting to cross that divide, many never even begin such a venture and becoming an international marketer is and remains an unattainable dream. Yet

(source: IRC Network)

Walls present a major challenge to interior concepts of space and design. We seek to break them down, make them less imposing, decorate them with pictures and paint them in appealing colours. Few,

(source: IRC Network)

With the tremendous emphasis placed on food quality and safety by the European Commission, a great number of spin-offs have occurred, presenting technologies and solutions to ensure compliance with the standards established. One such mixing of ingredients, blended with the efforts of the IRC services, resulted in a novel calorimeter for the measurement of edible oils.

(source: IRC Network)

The search for energy alternatives is in full stride. Fears about peak oil prices and availability continue to drive the need for alternative energy sources. Many

(source: IRC Network)

For established companies, remaining on the competitive edge is often not a matter of reinventing the wheel but one of changing direction, a simple matter of harvesting new ideas for old products. For one garden grower, finding Eden was a matter of innovation, and planting seeds in the fertile soil of the IRC network.

(source: IRC Network)

Many companies across Europe are regularly required to treat water even before it enters public sewerage networks. And with environmental standards rising, companies are furiously searching for cost effective solutions that will meet their needs.

(source: IRC Network)

The incursion of new products into the market is often the last hurdle to overcome for developers. Even with the best products on market there are no guarantees for success, but by using IRC expertise, their vast European-wide network, and the business tools they offer, the chances of success are greatly improved.

(source: IRC Network)

When one thinks of a typical wastewater recycling unit, more than likely images of processing vats and plants spring to mind. Almost certainly, one wouldn't picture a grove of trees as the next evolutionary step in both water treatment and renewable energy sources.

(source: IRC Network)

Wood, regal, warm, glorious wood. As a building material it's the pièce de résistance, the crème de la crème. It is irreplaceab

(source: IRC Network)

Water monitoring systems are a little more complicated than most people realise. A good system not only assists in ensuring good water quality, it also serves to assist in water analysis and direct pollution control.

(source: IRC Network)

When firemen are battling a blazing inferno, or when frogmen are attempting rescue in freezing seas, their clothing and gear is expected to live up to the demands for which they were designed. There can be no lapse in safety standards in the performance expectations of personal protective equipment.

(source: IRC Network)

Sports and games play a fundamental role in the development of children's motor and cognitive skills. Physical activities also have important applications for people with motor disabilities.

(source: IRC Network)

With the increasing demand to reduce the negative impact waste materials have on the environment, comes an equally challenging drive to find innovative solutions in dealing with it. Now, thanks in particular to the efforts of the Innovation Relay Centres, two interests fuse together to form innovative solutions for two growing and vitally important concerns; energy and waste.

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In the battle for soil recovery, bio-augmentation is the next generation of treatments now in the arsenal of conservationists and industry alike. Bio-augmentation involves a cocktail of specialised nutrients and bacterial cultures bred to deal with specific contaminant types.

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No one needs to be told about the devastation that forest fires can cause. Images of towering pillars of flame rapidly marching their way through millions of acres of trees are all too frequent.

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Biogas generated from the digestion of biodegradable waste products is an appealing alternative to fossil fuels. The combustion of methane in biogas is carbon-dioxide-neutral, which means that the carbon is extracted from the atmosphere by plants.

(source: IRC Network)

Revolutionary technologies are changing our society on a daily basis. The Museum of Science in Barcelona, attempts a workshop approach to present these technologies to the public at large.

(source: IRC Network)

German waste-shredding machines are being made available to the Turkish market thanks to a deal that can be traced back to an IRC Forum in Greece. The technology meets the high specifications required for secure shredding of sensitive documents.

(source: IRC Network)

A Dutch company specialising in thermoplastic composite materials transformation has found a partner in France to incorporate its process into components for building aircraft. The companies were brought together by the IRC network, establishing a link that could flourish as advanced composites increasingly replace metals in aircraft manufacturing.

(source: IRC Network)

The Dutch company Vossebelt & Kuijper equips and markets palmtop computers that assist mobile healthcare professionals in the provision of services to retired people who live at home. The IRC network recently helped the company find an Austrian partner that could fill a key gap in its tools’ functionality – food service in healthcare settings.

(source: IRC Network)

A team of Spanish cell biologists has acquired the knowledge and experience needed to set up a quality-controlled cell bank to store a wide variety of cell lines for many research groups. With IRC help, the Spanish ‘EUcellbank’ service has been used as a model to create a similar service in Poland.

(source: IRC Network)

French SME Revtech has developed a way of sterilising fragile and sensitive products such as herbs and spices. Their heat-treatment technology is perfect for high-value foodstuffs because it sterilises gently, without damaging a product’s taste and colour.

(source: IRC Network)

Two small companies have formed an alliance to help bring affordable ‘supercomputing’ to biotech researchers trying to discover more about the building blocks of life. The IRC network brokered the deal between Aethia, an Italian company specialising in parallel computing for scientific applications, and NorayBio, a Spanish firm providing IT support to the biotechnology sector.

(source: IRC Network)

A bone-health research project sponsored by the European Space Agency needed to find a partner specialising in ultrasound equipment and methods for measuring bone strength. With the IRC network’s help, they found the person they needed at an institute in Latvia.

(source: IRC Network)

Two SMEs from Poland and the UK have joined forces to develop an innovative and sustainable way to line landfill sites. Traditionally, landfills are lined with a mineral that has to be shipped from the United States.

(source: IRC Network)

Finnish company Genano Oy makes highly effective air-purification systems that clean up to 99.5% of the ultra-fine particles that can be most harmful to human health.

(source: IRC Network)

A German biopharmaceutical company with a possible treatment for Myasthenia Gravis has used the IRC network to find a partner to take the candidate drug through the next stage of its development. The Swiss partner has the specialist expertise essential to navigate the long road from molecule to market.

(source: IRC Network)

The Belgian precast concrete company Omnibeton has used the IRC network to find exactly the kind of innovative product they needed to counteract a decline in their traditional market. They have licensed the Delta Bloc safety barrier system from Delta Bloc Europa in Austria.

(source: IRC Network)

Years of careful breeding and testing by the Fruit Tree Research Institute in Rome are now literally bearing fruit, in the form of a new and improved range of flat peaches. Through the IRC network, this Italian innovation has been transferred to a nursery in Spain, which is using it to reinvigorate a previously depressed market.

(source: IRC Network)

Concerned that their important library of marine bacteria strains and their expertise in screening for novel bio-surfactants and emulsifiers were not being used to their full potential, the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) turned to their local IRC. They were put in touch with the marine biology department of Oldenburg University in Germany which had developed similar expertise in screening marine bacteria for wax esters.

(source: IRC Network)

The IRC network has helped South American software company SOFTRON develop a valuable link with INCOMEDIA, an Italian company. SOFTRON will translate and adapt INCOMEDIA's website-building software for South American users.

(source: IRC Network)

The Dutch R&D company Bright Spark was struggling to find chemical sensors for its patented water treatment technology until it turned to the IRC network for help. Bright Spark was quickly put in touch with Spanish researchers who could solve the technical problems and also assist with manufacturing the water-treatment system on a commercial scale.

(source: IRC Network)

One of Europe’s oldest building materials looks set to make a comeback. Hemp, which was widely used in Roman times, is now proving itself to be a high performance, environmentally friendly insulating material, when combined with other substances to make lining for walls.

(source: IRC Network)

A novel drug-delivery catheter developed in Greece is showing considerable potential in initial trials against brain tumours and haematomas. The IRC network has helped to link the Greek developer with a French company that is ideally suited to manufacturing the system for the international market.

(source: IRC Network)

Large glass panels that can respond to a small vibration are the subject of a new technology transfer agreement between a Parisian high-tech company and a UK marketing company. The technology enables a large glass area to act like a sensitive computer screen.

(source: IRC Network)

Groundbreaking medical research developed by a Dutch university is being transformed into a commercial drug to help transplant patients, thanks to a deal with pharmaceutical company, Henogen. The Belgian firm acquired ImmunoToko, the university spin-off company behind the development, after being put in contact by the IRC network.

(source: IRC Network)

A patented Norwegian water filtration system is now available for installation across the UK, and further afield, thanks to a new partnership forged by the IRC network. The compact technology occupies one-tenth of the space of the sedimentation systems it will replace.

(source: IRC Network)

A young Maltese company supplying electromechanical automation systems for the luxury yachting sector no longer has to say ‘no’ to some of their customers’ more complex requests. Thanks to an IRCmediated partnership with established Italian specialists, the Maltese can now offer integrated control systems for the many ‘comfort’ features of a modern super-yacht.

(source: IRC Network)

Hungarian auditors are assisting a Turkish company to gain the ‘CE mark’ certificate required to sell its medical implant products in the EU, thanks to an IRC-brokered agreement. Meeting EU standards is a major issue for companies in candidate countries, and this example is a good illustration of how the IRC network can help.

(source: IRC Network)

An innovative new illuminated cane could help reduce accidents by making blind and partially sighted people easier to see by road users and other pedestrians. The folding polycarbonate cane has been patented by a UK company and will be made in Hungary, in a co-development deal brokered by the IRC network.

(source: IRC Network)

The Spanish-based multinational Chupa Chups used the IRC network to find X-ray scanning technology needed to perform a key quality control test. The innovation was needed to meet the strict demands of the Japanese market.

(source: IRC Network)

A patented environmental technology that cleans using tiny bubbles is helping Hungarian firm, Multiprojekt, expand into new markets in the food industry. The company has teamed up with the system’s German developer, Enviplan, thanks to contacts made through the Innovation Relay Centre network.

(source: IRC Network)