Xaar plc, a world leader in inkjet technology development, has today opened an office in Schaumburg, Illinois, that will serve as the new, permanent headquarters for its US operations. The facility houses both Xaar's sales and technical support staff and, in addition, provides conference facilities and a formal customer support centre. The latter is equipped with customer-supplied printing systems that Xaar staff members can use to demonstrate the broad range of wide-format and industrial inkjet printing applications in which its technologies - printheads and inks - are used. Another important part of the customer support centre is a laboratory where Xaar support staff and/or customers can experiment with various inkjet printhead/application combinations, produce print samples, and test various combinations of print heads, substrates and inks. Commenting on the opening of the new office, Xaar chief executive officer Jan Fineman said: "Xaar's presence has been growing steadily in the US market over the past two years as increasing numbers of wide-format and industrial printing applications move towards inkjet technologies. This new facility consolidates our US operations and strengthens our customer support capabilities giving us a strong basis for continued growth." Rick Bessom, Xaar US sales manager, added: "The new facility gives us a strong, centrally located base from which we can support our US customers and host them for meetings and presentations."