Invest in France Agency international Office

Normandy is located at the gateway to the busiest seas in the world (the English Channel and the North Sea) while at the same time close to Europe’s major business centers: London, Brussels and Paris. Its geographical situation, close to large centers of consumers with high spending power (potentially 200 million consumers can be reached in less than 48 hours by truck), makes Normandy one of the most economically attractive regions in France. There are many international groups in the area: Normandy is the 3rd leading region in France for the number of international businesses located in the area. Foreign investment in Normandy led to 1,859 new jobs in 2006.

The region offers considerable logistics advantages. Its ports (n°1 sea port platform on the Channel, and fourth-leading sea port platform in Europe, with 150 million tons of goods handled by 2010), waterways, road and rail networks have favored strong industrial development in: automotive/mechanical (15% of total European vehicles assembled in Northwest France), chemicals/petrochemicals/materials (33% of France’s total refinery capacity, 80% of oils and additive production, 50% of plastics and polymer production), ITC, agro-food, pharmaceuticals/health/cosmetics (2nd leading region for pharmaceutical chemicals, 3rd leading region for cosmetic products and health and beauty packaging), energy/environment. It is also includes leading edge and innovative industries, such as aerospace (3rd biggest national cluster), civil and military naval construction, smart cards, e-business, nuclear physics, etc.

Industry, scientific and technology clusters create a synergy between training, research and business. There are five designated clusters in the Normandy region based around Normandy university campuses (Rouen, Caen and Le Havre), 9 engineering schools, 5 management schools, National Technical Research Centers (Materials/Combustion and Motors) and regional centers for innovation and technology transfer (CRITT). This helps ensure the link between research and industry in the creation of innovative projects and private R&D centers, which potentially equals 70,000 students, 130 research laboratories and 4,000 academic and research personnel.

Examples of current projects in Normandy:

• Port 2000: twofold increase in container traffic at the Le Havre Port
• “EPR” for electricity production using a 3rd generation nuclear reactor
• SPIRAL 2: future equipment that will rank France among the world leaders for nuclear physics research
• German project to set up France’s first sea-based wind turbine park
• NXP project called “PRIIM” (Platform for the Realization of Shared Industrial Innovation) on the Effiscience campus at Caen, based on SiP and PICS technologies
• Faurecia (mechanisms and seating) and Magneti Marelli Motopropulsion (motor and gear box systems) automotive R&D centers
• Aircelle: creation of a center of excellence for acoustic nozzles and composite materials