Champagne-Ardenne Development
The Champagne-Ardenne region benefits from a strategic geographical location and state-of-the-art infrastructures.
The Champagne-Ardenne region is situated at the heart of several large centers of consumer population with high spending power (Ile-de-France, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, the South of England, Benelux countries, the Rhineland, Switzerland and the Rhône-Alpes region), and has several major road networks that remain uncongested (1 000 km of motorways and freeways). The region is situated at the center of the European TGV high speed rail network and is only 45 minutes from Paris, 30 minutes from Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport, 1 hour 25 minutes from Lille, 3 hours 25 minutes from Nantes, 3 hours 45 minutes from Frankfurt, and lies on the Paris-Bâle axis. The Paris Vatry international freight and passenger airport (France’s 4th largest freight airport) also offers exceptional logistics facilities. Multi-transport terminals (Nogent-sur-Seine, Givet, Chalindrey) are linked to Rotterdam, Le Havre and Marseille.
With a population of approximately 1 350 000, the region is ranked 5th in France in terms of GDP/head of population, and 5th for exports. The Champagne-Ardenne is also 3rd in France in terms of sub-contracting, 1st for iron metal working, 2nd for wood-energy, and is the world’s leading producer of malt, and Europe’s leading producer of dried alfalfa and hemp. Finally, the Champagne-Ardenne is the location of Europe’s biggest cereal cooperative and the region markets 320 million bottles of champagne each year!
The Champagne-Ardenne region offers many advantages. Setting up and operating costs are among the lowest in the north-east quarter of France. There is an available pool of dedicated and efficient manpower. Local taxation is favorable and land and real estate costs are lower than the national average.
Moreover, the region has a solid technological foundation. It hosts the global “Industries and Agro-Resources” cluster, which is dedicated to the non-nutritional optimization of natural resources and offers centers of excellence which group together industrial players and public and private sector research laboratories, including the world renowned Regional Center for Innovation and Technology Transfer (CRITT) specialized in the metal and surface coatings sectors. Finally, over 35 000 students are enrolled in further education in the region’s 2 universities, 3 engineering schools (including the only European engineering school specialized in packaging), and 2 business schools.
The Champagne-Ardenne region has 900 foreign companies, including 200 industrial groups, that employ a total of 35 000 salaried staff. In 2006, foreign investment inflows into the region led to the creation of 1 143 jobs and put the region in 4th position in France in terms of job creation per head of working population.
The following companies have already chosen to locate their business activity in the Champagne-Ardenne region:
ABB Flexible Automation, Amada Co. Ltd, American Standard, Ammann Yanmar, AstraZeneca, Avery Dennison, B Braun Medical, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bonduelle, Bosal, British Vita, Cartiera Lucchese, Ceva Logistics, ClientLogic, Delphi Automotive Systems, Entremont, Farm Frites, Faurecia, Ferro Corporation, FM Logistics, Freudenberg, Geodis, Hermès, Johnson & Johnson, Knauf, Lafarge Couverture, Laird Group PLC, Lohmann & Rauscher, Magna Donnelly Corporation, Manoir Industries, McCain, Montedison, Nordenia International, PSA, Rexam PLC, Schulman Plastics, SKF, Smurfit, SNC Lavalin, Spartech Polycom, Techcity, TI Systems, Trelleborg Automotive, Unilever, Unilin, Visteon Corporation, Warcoing, Worldtex Inc…
