as in the case of north america , many of the companies branching out into europe were doing so in response to trade problems related to automobiles and scientific and optical equipment such as duplicators and copying machines ; but , for the most part , as concern grew about the `` fortification of europe `` with the approaching unification of the ec in 1992 , companies beat a hasty path to this region during the closing years of the 1980 's in order to gain insider status so they could secure a piece of the european market .