North-Brabant

The province of North-Brabant covers 5,000 square kilometers (2,000 square miles), and accounts for 14,8% (2,4 million) of the total Dutch population. Den Bosch is the capital of North-Brabant; other major urban regions are Eindhoven, Helmond, Tilburg and Breda.

North-Brabant has a geographically strategic location in the southern part of the Netherlands. The province is surrounded by five large urban areas that dominate the spatial structure of North-West Europe, including:

• Randstad (comprising Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam and The Hague)
• Antwerp/Brussels/Ghent region
• Rhine/Ruhr area
• Greater London
• Ile de France (the greater Parisf region)

Mainport that are located in this area are:

• Seaports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and Amsterdam
• Airports of London, Paris , Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Brussels and Düsseldorf

The economic structure of North-West Europe is supported by important transport routes, corridors - from these main ports to the densely populated urban and industrial areas in this area, offering access to 400 million consumers in the European Union .

North-Brabant has two universities providing scientific research and teaching: the Tilburg University and the Technical University in Eindhoven, together facilitating a pool of 18,000 students. In addition, there are seven UPEs (Universities of Professional Education) and a large number of intermediate vocational schools, distributed across the province. These institutions provide professional education in a wide range of areas, including economics, management, technology, accountancy, chemistry, agriculture, health care, and art. Children of foreign origin (expatriates) are accommodated for by the Japanese Saturday School in Tilburg, the International Elementary School in Eindhoven, and the International Secondary School, also in Eindhoven.

North-Brabant accommodates 1,100 foreign companies companies, employing 80,000 highly qualified and motivated workers. Multinationals in the area include: Abbott Laboratories, Acer, Alcoa, Amgen, AKZO-Nobel, ASM Lithography, BENQ, Bosch, Coca-Cola, DAF Trucks Paccar, Dell, Ericsson, Exxon Mobil, FEI Company, Fuji Photo Film, General Electric, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Haier, Heineken, Hitachi, IFF, Ingram Micro, LG, Mars, Philips Electronics, Philip Morris, Ricoh, Sabic, SAP, Samsung Electronics, Siemens, Shell, Sony, Tyco Electronics, UPS and Unilever. An impressive number of these companies are listed in the top 100 of the FT 500 of world's largest companies.

The innovative and high-tech nature of these international companies characterizes Brabant. In particular, food & beverage, luxury goods, electrical engineering, medical technology, chemicals, and various metal industries have put their stamp on the area. This industrial diversity has greatly boosted distribution, transport and services. Other strong sectors of the economy include the information and communication technology and subcontracting activities for the automotive industry.

High levels of knowledge and technology are needed to generate economic growth and ensure a high standard of living. As product life cycles and fashion periods have shortened, the importance of innovation is growing. Rapid adoption of new technologies is continuously pushing up the levels of education. Existing knowledge becomes obsolete much more rapidly. Research & Development, therefore, are critical factors to keep up with these developments and stay ahead of competition. The province of North-Brabant ranks first among regional R&D expenditure, with a share of > 30% of national R&D expenditure. The level of R&D spending in approaches 3% of GRP, which is well above the national average and that of the European Union.

Key cities

• 's-Hertogenbosch, Breda, Eindhoven, Helmond, Tilburg

Key industries

• Medical, logistics, electronics, automotive, metal, chemicals, food

Access nationally / internationally

• Eindhoven Airport, flights to European cities like London, Paris, Barcelona, Rome
• Connection to the High-Speed Train (Amsterdam - Paris) in Breda
• Good connections to main European highways (E19, E25, E34, E311 and E312)

Foreign companies

• Bergen op Zoom: Sabic (USA), Philip Morris (USA), Ricoh (Japan),
• Breda: Amgen (USA), Abbott Laboratories (USA), Samsung (Korea), Ssangyong Motor (Korea), Exxon Mobil (USA), Alfa Laval (Denmark), General Motors (USA),
• Den Bosch: SAP (Germany), Acer (Taiwan), Tyco Electronics (USA), Omron (Japan)
• Eindhoven: NXP (USA), FEI Company (USA), BENQ (Taiwan), Fluke (USA), Mitutoyo (Japan), Haier (China), Hisense (China)., IBM (USA), DAF Paccar (USA)
• Etten-Leur: Hill's Pet Nutrition (USA), Lidl (Germany), Hollister (USA),
• Helmond: Benteler PDE Automotive (Duitsland), Outukompu (Finland),
• Moerdijk: Basell (USA), Rexam (UK), Rohm & Haas (USA), Adidas and Wuppermann (Germany), Bridgestone (Japan),
• Oosterhout: IKEA (Zweden), Eglo (Oostenrijk), Hitachi Construction (Japan),
• Oss: Ball Packaging (USA), Daikin (Japan), D.I.C. Eques (Japan), B.Braun (Duitsland), Organon BioScience (USA),
• Roosendaal: DHL (Duitsland), Meadwestvaco (USA), Penske (USA)
• Tilburg: Sony (Japan),Banner Pharma (USA), Fuji Photo Film (Japan), Ingram Micro (USA), International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF)(USA), Nalco(USA), Samsung (Korea), LG (Korea), UPS (USA), Bosch VDT (Duitsland),
• Uden: Modine (USA), Tennant (USA), Ferro Electronics (USA),
• Veghel: Mars (USA), Kuehne & Nagel (Switserland), Royal Canin (France).

Demographic figures

• Population: 2,415,946 (2006)
• Labor force: 1,126,640 (2006)
• Unemployment rate: 5.4% (2005)

Regional development agency

• North Brabant Development Agency (BOM) - www.foreigninvestments.eu