The development of Fedit and its Centers

The figures of the 2007 financial year confirm the growth trend followed by Technology Centers, with a 520 million euro revenue, a 19% increase over the previous year. The workforce also grew by 12%. On the other hand, investment in Technology Centers enjoyed a steady growth around 10%. The centers’ income during 2006 followed a similar pattern to previous years. Finally, public funding increased slightly above private one, with a 23% and 18% rise each.

The amount of companies in governing bodies of Technology Centers was in line with previous years. This figure, linked to an increase in private revenue, led to a substantial increase in the average revenue per client company, which amounts to 16.5%. The Centers kept their focus on R&D activity and technology services mainly.

In addition to this, in 2006 R&D projects undertaken by Technology Centers were larger, which can be ascribed to a growing complexity of the business demand and the effort of the general government to endow projects with an increased added value.
It should also be highlighted that the total amount of technology based companies established by the Centers soared in 2006, with 9 more over the previous year, which amounts to a 47% increase.

Along the same lines, the number of patents generated by Technology Centers enjoyed a healthy growth (41 more than the previous years, a 47% increase). Although these 2 indicators do not equal financial growth on their own, they do convey the concern and the potential of Technology Centers regarding new know-how transfer schemes.