Business Facilities - February 2008 - (Page 54)

INTERNATIONAL PROFILE France By Karim Khan Eating Well in the North of France A visit to the North of France proves that the French know more about food than just how to cook—they also lead Europe in food processing and research. I n December 2007, I spent several 20 people or more. The largest, days exploring one of the leading Nestlé, has a workforce of 1,707 food processing and ingredients across four sites in the region. clusters in Europe. Centered Within the food and ingredients around the city of Lille, France in the cluster lie two interesting sub-clusters. region known as the North of France—just a short drive to the border with Belgium and bounded on the northwest by the narrowest section of the English Channel—the cluster is prospering thanks to a number of factors, not the least of which is easy access to the UK, Continental Europe, and the sea. Technicians at Lille’s Pasteur Institute work on issues The North of France is comprised of interest to companies involved in food science. of the two northernmost French départements (the rough equivalent of states in the U.S.): Nord and Pasde-Calais. Together, they contain the cities of Calais, Dunkerque, Boulogne-sur-Mer, and Lille • Lille. Companies with Pas -de-Calais production and headArras Nord quarters facilities in the area include Ajinomoto, one of the world’s largest producers of the sweetener aspartame; Bonduelle, Europe’s top producer of canned and chilled vegetables (and second in Europe in frozen vegetables); Roquette, the world’s leading producer of sugarless sweeteners and one The first—seafood—is a natural for of the largest starch producers in the Northern France, given its long marworld; and Tate & Lyle, the UK- itime history. Boulogne-sur-Mer is based producer and distributor of France’s leading fishing port. It’s also a food ingredients used in the com- focal point for seafood processing, mercial food manufacturing indus- trading, and distribution. Highway try. All told, the North of France has A16 is directly linked to the harbor. 184 food industry businesses (with at And because the local seafood indusleast 287 facilities) that each employ try is an officially designated cluster, Oslo SWEDEN NORWAY Stockholm DENMARK Copenhagen Dublin POLAND IRELAND Amsterdam Berlin UNITED KINGDOM London The Hague NETH. GERMANY Brussels BELGIUM Prague LUX. Luxembourg Paris CZECH Vienna SLOVAKIA Bratislava AUSTRIA LIECH. FRANCE Bern Vaduz HUNGARY SWITZERLAND Ljubljana SLOVENIA Zagreb BOSNIA Sarajevo CROATIA Monaco ITALY ANDORRA Rome PORTUGAL Madrid SPAIN Lisbon Algers Tunis Gibraltar Vallelta A L G E R IA TUNISIA MALTA MOROCCO the government funds some of its research and development. Financial, entrepreneurial, and worker training incentives are all readily available for cluster companies as well, regardless of the company’s national origin. The other sub-cluster that has formed around Lille is what might be called a nutrition and health cluster. With all the research and development conducted by companies in the area—particularly by ingredient and food processing businesses trying to find new ways to use the same crops they purchase in bulk every year—it’s no wonder that many discoveries related to human health have been made and commercialized here. Some of the businesses in this subcluster exist solely as laboratories to test and research food products. The force with the most prestige in this area, however, is not a company at all but a research institution. The Pasteur Institute in Lille is a 100-year-old private foundation that occupies a campus in the center city area; it combines a mission of public service with contract work performed for industrial clients. The institute also trains over 3,000 people a year, most of whom are sent by companies. (Besides food, the institute also researches topics in health and the environment, such as water quality.) The presence of such an august institution is a crucial link in the North of France’s leadership in food processing, food safety, ingredient research and production, and nutrition discoveries. 54 FEBRUARY 2008 PHOTO CREDITS: LABORATORY, KARIM KHAN; MAP, CARTESIA

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Business Facilites - February 2008 Contents First Word Snapshots Corporate Moves: Texas Capturing the Creative Class Green with Energy Automotive Opportunities in a Green Economy Corporate Moves: Wyoming Metro Spotlight: Overland Park, KS Metro Spotlight: Long Island, NY Get Ahead in Alabama Indiana: Sending Tech Messages How to Successfully Negotiate a Lease in Today's Real Estate Environment Legislation Spurring Innovation in Kentucky New Center will Propel Ontario's Automotive Future Virginia's Vital Signs Eating Well in the North of France Advertiser Index Ask the Expert

Business Facilities - February 2008

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