Ukrainian Defense Tech company "Oko Kamera," which develops thermal imaging cameras for unmanned and robotic systems, has opened a company in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The company told AIN about this.
On the reasons for entering the European market, investments, production plans, and prospects for technological partnership with the Netherlands — in a quick interview with Chief Strategic Communications Officer of "Oko Kamera" Oleksandr Strelnykov.
— Why did "Oko Kamera" choose the Netherlands specifically?
— Several reasons. First, co-founders Denys and Yevhen already had experience conducting partnership negotiations with the Dutch side. The culture of doing business and cooperation in the Netherlands is very similar to how it is done in Ukraine. It is easy to find common ground and values.
Secondly, it is very easy to do business here in English. It would seem that this reason is not very obvious, but in other European countries certain barriers with this can often arise.
Third, this is the main reason, actually. The Netherlands is a very developed country. There are many centers, scientific institutes and institutions here that work specifically with these industries that we need.
— Will the Netherlands have its own production of thermal imaging cameras?
One of the options we are currently working on is a joint venture with local partners. We have already received relevant proposals, but there is no final decision yet. Our idea is to create production of a new line of cameras here, which will allow us to scale up output and potentially secure its procurement within the framework of bilateral agreements between the Netherlands and Ukraine for the needs of the Ukrainian military.
By the end of 2027, we plan to reach the capacity to manufacture up to 100,000 thermal imaging cameras per year in the Netherlands. This refers specifically to annual production capacity, not the actual volume of products manufactured during that year.
— Who joined the team of the office in the Netherlands?
Currently, Veronika Skorobohatko has been appointed as the executive director. We also have business development specialists, photonics research experts, as well as lawyers and compliance officers.
We plan to bring in more business development specialists, a researcher, and a GR specialist who will be responsible for interaction with the Dutch government.
This is all the front office for the first stage of scaling the company. We are not yet talking about production capacities and this part of the team.
— Is “Camera’s Eye” interested in expanding into other European countries as well? And which ones are you looking at?
We are considering the following partnerships and analyzing the jurisdictions of various countries. Among the criteria are the attractiveness of the business environment, compliance procedures and, most importantly, the availability of production facilities and specialists necessary for working with optics.
Currently, the Netherlands best meets these criteria. At the same time, we are also considering other countries of Central and Western Europe.
Recall that the company is also currently raising a new investment round. Currently, "Oko Kamera" is at the stage of closing it, the company told AIN, but for now cannot disclose the details of the deal.