TOP SECTOR POLICY WEST-BRABANT REGION

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1 Printversion 1 van 6 Volume 18 TOP SECTOR POLICY WEST-BRABANT REGION In this issue: Page 1/2 Top sector policy West-Brabant region New trade mission to China Page 3 Meet & Greet Breda brings the international community together Scania hosts fourth Swedish Business in Brabant event Page 4 Opening of Breda Incubator, breeding-ground for starting entrepreneurs Amgen Singelloop Page 5 Roparun - BrIM Breda head sponsor Pearls of Breda Brabant Talents Speed Date Page 6 Rithmeester Park Breda New trade mission to China Headed by mayor Peter van der Velden, a new trade mission to China is being prepared. From September a delegation from the South-West region will be travelling to the Jiangsu province with visits to Shanghai, Nanjing, Yangzhou and Yixing. The City of Breda is the central city for the West-Brabant region. Because of its favourable position at the heart of the Dutch-Belgian Delta, West-Brabant is a region of particular economic significance. Economically, with its Gross Regional Product of 24.1 bn and more than 36,000 companies, West-Brabant is among the top regions of the Netherlands. The fact is that West-Brabant s labour productivity is far above the Dutch average. Apart from its strategic location between the main ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, West-Brabant derives its strength from the excellent infrastructural connections with its hinterland, the level of education of its workforce and its pleasant living and working conditions. In West-Brabant business, education and local government work together closely to retain and reinforce the competitive strength of regional business. This is done, for example, by focussing strongly on innovation and business development, in which the needs of business are the main concern. To steer this process, West-Brabant s choice is to aim its efforts at the three so-called top sectors of logistics, maintenance and bio based economy. Since time immemorial West-Brabant has maintained its strength in these sectors which all offer clear opportunities of cashing in on new developments. Entrepreneurs in these sectors who are receptive to cooperating with fellow-companies and/or institutes of knowledge are kindly invited to participate. Logistics West-Brabant s favourable location between world ports has added to its growth as a region with an exceptionally strong logistic cluster. However, also the good connections to the European hinterland, the connection with multimodal networks, the many international distribution centres and the available building sites establish West-Brabant s image as one of the logistic hotspots of the Netherlands. p.t.o. During this week the King s Commissioner, Mr Wim van de Donk, will also be visiting the country and joining the courtesy visit to the twinning city of Yangzhou. Central themes of the mission are care, logistics and water. There are still a number of places available. The strength of such missions is that the presence of government officials in the company will open doors that will otherwise remain closed, which is of considerable benefit to doing business with China. The organisation is taken care of by China Business Association South-West Netherlands. For your application and more information, please contact b.hoogedeure@breda.nl BrIM Breda and Social Media Apart from finding updates in Breda Business Update newsletter, you can read about the latest of all of Breda s developments on our BrIM Breda LinkedIn Group and on Twitter.

2 2 van 6 TOP SECTOR POLICY WEST-BRABANT REGION continue As already indicated, West-Brabant has a range of possibilities to make use of multimodal facilities. At the same time the development of Moerdijk Logistics Park should not remain unmentioned: a net 150 hectares state-of-the-art business park specifically for large-scale Value Added Logistics. West-Brabant s ambition is to further reinforce its position in logistics and grow into a European top region as far as chain direction and supply chain management are concerned. Together with Breda s Dutch Institute for Advanced Logistics (DINALOG), for example, West-Brabant closely cooperates to focus on business development and innovation as an experimental garden for new developments. Maintenance The maintenance market is the business-tobusiness market for Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul & Upgrades (MRO&U) of technical capital goods. By Maintenance we understand the total pallet of activities and technologies to achieve an efficient and effective management, maintenance and optimalisation of technical systems within pre-set requirements of availability, safety and costs. West-Brabant has known much capital-intensive business for a long time. The chemical sector, for example, is strongly represented with companies like Shell and Sabic. Other regional examples of important maintenance sectors are aviation and the maritime sector. With the Aviolanda project in Woensdrecht for aircraft maintenance and the barging cluster in Werkendam West-Brabant holds a number of strong cards. The main ambition is to create a top international business environment for maintenance companies. This ambition fits in with, for example, globalisation of the maintenance market and an increasingly sustainable society. This means an important supporting and stimulating role for Breda s Dutch Institute for World Class Maintenance. (DIWCM) The professional maintenance of capital goods is becoming more and more important. To improve the competitive position of West-Brabant s business, it is important to keep investing in an optimum availability of capital-intensive goods and installations at a lowest possible level of costs of life-span. Biobased Economy The Biobased Economy is particularly relevant to West-Brabant as it has a sizable share of the agricultural and horticultural sector (as regards turnover and companies), as well as a substantial part of the food industry (especially sugarrelated). This means companies like Cosun, Cargill and Lamb-Weston. This is all in combination with strong chemical partners like Sabic, Shell Total and Termphos, of course. Biobased Economy South-West Netherlands concentrates on the top sectors of Chemistry and Agrofood. The companies in these sectors will together explore new markets by making their traditional products and processes greener. There are developments in the field of Green Energy where residues (warmth, CO2) of waste incineration serve as the input for agrofood and non-food sectors. West-Brabant / South-West Netherlands wants to be among the pioneers in the field of green raw materials, green building blocks (bio-aromatics) for the industry and greening processes. Some important new initiatives are the Green Chemistry Campus with Sabic, a Centre of Expertise Biobased Economy at Avans University of Applied Sciences and a Centre for Innovative Cratfsmanship at the Wes-Brabant School for Middle Vocational Education (ROC West-Brabant). Finally, we should mention the Nieuw Prinsenland Agro and Food Cluster in Steenbergen. West-Brabant Region West-Brabant s strength is in the awareness that entrepreneurs, education and local government should cooperate closely to achieve optimum results for all partners. The West-Brabant region is characterised by its open attitude to this cooperation. In this respect the West-Brabant Region cooperation (RWB) is an important partner on the part of the government. RWB is an alliance of nineteen municipalities with an aim to reinforce and stimulate the region as regards economy, labour market, mobility and sustainability, among other things. Furthermore, RWB is a strategic conversation partner for e.g. province, national government and Europe, where the future of the region and available funds are concerned. If you are interested as an entrepreneur to join up, if you feel the need for support in the field of innovation, if you are looking for possible collaboration partners or if you would like to have more information about what West-Brabant Region might be able to offer you, please contact Mr Cees Budding, programme manager of Social-Economic Affairs at RWB. (cees.budding@west-brabant.eu /

3 3 van 6 Meet & Greet Breda brings the international community Fotograaf: Michiel Landeweerd together Alderwoman Saskia Boelema welcomed approximately 65 internationals at the first Meet & Greet Breda event, which took place on Thursday, June 6th at the Museum of the Image MOTI. The event was organized by Holland Expat Center South, together with the municipality of Breda and the International School Breda. It was sponsored by BrIM Breda. Meet & Greet Breda gives internationals who are living in Breda the opportunity to find out more about activities available in their area. Attendees enjoyed a complimentary tour of the museum, drinks and snacks, and also had the opportunity to win prizes, and to meet other internationals who are living in the area. The next Meet & Greet Breda event will take place in the autumn at Chasse Theatre in Breda. More information will be available on Or you can contact Marcelle den Hooglander of the Municipality of Breda, mapa.den.hooglander@breda.nl Scania hosts fourth Swedish Business in Brabant event On April 22, 2013 Swedish Business in Brabant #4 was organized by the Swedish Chamber of Commerce, BOM Foreign Investments and Handelsbanken. The program Internationalization of Transport was hosted by Scania at their headquarters in Breda for almost fourty guests. The program included presentations by Evert Halvarsson, Managing Director of Scania Benelux, Tom van de Mosselaar, Director Sales Benelux, Bert Peeters, Managing Director Finance Scania Belgium, Marie-Jose Rutten, Director Human Resources & Organisational Development at Scania Benelux and Cees Meeuwis Alderman Employment and Enterprise, City of Breda. For more information please contact Lars de Vries (ldevries@bom.nl / +31 (0) ). After the presentations the guests mingled and enjoyed drinks and exclusive finger food. The Swedish Chamber, BOM Foreign Investments and Handelsbanken Breda Branch would like to thank their guests for attending the Swedish Business in Brabant event, and special thanks of course to Scania for hosting the event and for making it a huge success. Scania CV AB The Swedish Chamber of Commerce, BOM Foreign Investments, Handelsbanken and Scania are pleased to invite you to SWEDISH BUSINESS IN BRABANT The internationalization of Transport by Scania Monday April 22, 2013, at

4 4 van 6 Opening of Breda Incubator, breeding-ground for starting entrepreneurs Wednesday 19th June was the official opening of Breda Incubator, a place for starting companies to set up shop. Over the past few months BrIM has been transforming a vacant school at Oranjeboomstraat 198 in Breda into a multi-business building for starting entrepreneurs called Breda Incubator. Apart from providing accommodation to starting entrepreneurs, the site offers possibilities for coaching, workshops and networking. The Incubator serves to stimulate starting entrepreneurs and to support them on their route to the commercial market. Meanwhile, 80% of the building has been let. themselves. This is how talents are enabled to find and inspire each other to bring out the best in themselves. This is where entrepreneurs are given an opportunity to acquire business space at a low rent. Eventually, they will receive three intensive years of preparation before making the step into the commercial market. The coaching of starters at Breda Incubator is done by successful concepts like Starterslift and Breda Business Coach. Mr Cees Meeuwis, alderman for employment and enterprise: Breda has several ways of offering support starting to entrepreneurs. Breda Incubator is a nice example. This starters building provides a nice entrepreneurial climate and fosters the economic activity and living conditions in Breda s city districts. Moreover, the Incubator not only allows for meetings between starters and coaches, but also between starters Amgen Singelloop Who is going to add strength to the BrIM runners team? Apart from having fun and making a sports achievement, the BrIM team will have its picture taken with mayor Peter van der Velden, who will also be wearing the BrIM runners shirt. Live the Breda experience and get to know our city completely differently by joining a run through the historic city centre along a route lined with numerous supporters to spur you on. Brightened up with all kinds of musical entertainment, this day will be an unforgettable and fun experience. On Sunday 6th October Breda features a large-scale running event, the Breda Amgen Canal Run. There are several distances to choose from. This year s idea is for N.V. BrIM Breda s relations to join the popular part, the Campanile Business Run. You can join the run as a team consisting of a minimum of three and a maximum of five runners dressed in an original and functional BrIM running shirt. The team may choose to run 5 kilometres, 10 kilometres or a half-marathon. We offer our relations a possibility to enrol. If you are interested, make it quick. The run allows for only a limited number of participants. For more information and application, please contact b.hoogedeure@breda.nl

5 5 van 6 Roparun BrIM Breda head sponsor Pearls of Breda What is the Roparun? The Roparun is a relay run of 519 kilometres from Paris and Hamburg to Rotterdam in which people team up for a sports achievement to raise funds for people with cancer. It is also known as an adventure for life. In fact, this can also be concluded from the motto which has always been: Adding life to the days, where often no more days can be added to life. A Roparun team consists of a maximum of eight runners who thus each run approximately 65 kilometres or more than 1.5 marathons. Furthermore, the team has a minimum of two cyclists and a few more support people like drivers, attendants, caterers and road captains. The teams themselves are responsible for making sure these tasks are carried out and an average team consists of 25 people. Apart from making the sports effort, the team also has to try to raise funds for the cause. This is done by planning all kinds of campaigns like wrapping groceries, washing cars, door-to-door fundraising and finding sponsors. The team members are also expected to sell lottery tickets the proceeds of which serve to help the cause. During the past twenty-one editions of the Roparun more than 51 million euro has been raised to provide care to people with cancer. BrIM and Roparun BrIM Breda was the head sponsor for the Pearls of Breda on their trip from Paris to Rotterdam. The Pearls of Breda is a group of 24 people, mainly civil servants, who picked up the idea to use sports for charity. Together, they have raised more than 10,000. The trip was tiring, instructive, emotional, heavy but especially very beautiful. The appreciation for the Roparun is enormous and the support of (local) business for this kind of initiatives deserves great admiration. Brabant Talents Speed Date On 22nd of April Alderman Cees Meeuwis opened the first Brabant Talents activity in Breda at the Castle of Breda. Also present were the State Secretary for Finance Mr. Weekers and Alderwoman Saskia Boelema who attended the meeting as part of the international week and took part in the speed date. It was a successful speed date with 50 mostly international students from Avans, NHTV, Hogeschool Rotterdam and Fontys with 8 regional entrepreneurs. In several speed date rounds the participants could discuss about future career opportunities and about the ambitions of the students. At the end of the meeting the majority concluded that it was very informative, that some follow up appointments had been made and that this kind of meetings should be organized more often. The meeting was organized by the Economics Department of the City of Breda with support from the Netherlands Defense Academy and BriljantNet. For further information please contact Marcel de Heer of the Department of Economic Affairs of the City of Breda, mp.de.heer@breda.nl

6 R i t h m e e s t e r P a r k B r e d a Rithmeester Park is a future work location of 20 hectares gross. Situated between the A16, Princenhagelaan and Graaf Engelbrechtlaan, it is part of a larger area possibly meant for business and stretching further west of the Princenhagelaan and south of the Graaf Engelbrechtlaan. 6 van 6 immediate presence in the area of internationally oriented companies like Texaco, Samsung, ExxonMobil and Princess. It is also where the logistic top knowledge institute of Dinalog (Dutch Institute for Advanced Logistics) has found its location as well as DIWCM, the Dutch Institute of World Class Maintenance. Because of its favourable geographical location, central in the economic forcefield of the Rhine Scheldt-Meuse Delta, directly on the international connecting A16 motorway from Rotterdam to Antwerp, Rithmeester Park is not only strategically important for the economic development of Breda but for the whole of the West-Brabant region. Significant evidence is the The vicinity of Rithmeester Park offers a diverse palette of mutually reinforcing functions: top-quality public transport (link between Etten-Leur and Breda), a wide range of living and working environments and numerous amenities like hotels, catering, retail and education (e.g. Breda International School ). Ondernemers Welkom op Rithmeester Park Strategische locatie in een gastvrij landschap Rithmeester Park from August 2013 T+31 (0) Rithmeester Business Park adjoins the quiet and socially close-knit community of Princenhage, village within the City of Breda. Princenhage is a city district of 7,900 inhabitants, with an authentic village square with shops and a rich club life. The City of Breda wants to strike the perfect balance between supply and demand. Hence the current analysis of target groups. It mainly focuses on companies in the high-end and topmiddle segments. A mixture of business and from August office activities is possible If you are interested in finding a site on this unique location or if you would like to have more information, please contact Mrs Marcelle den Hooglander at (076) or mapa.den.hooglander@breda.nl challenge and stimulate your child challenge and stimulate your child from August 2013 challenge and stimulate your child The ISB nursery offers your child: * fun, interactive learning * warm and caring environment * a balance between creative and academic * led by an experienced Early Years teacher 2013 copyright BrIM Breda / Breda Business Update is an activity of NV BrIM Breda, part of municipality of Breda. The ISB nursery offers your child: Postbus 2522, 4800 CM Breda / T + 31 (0) / * fun, interactive learning * warm and caring environment Photo's: Rene De Gilde