North Brabant - Overview:
With a population of around 2.3 million, almost 15 per cent of the total Dutch population, and a work force of a little over 1 million, North Brabant is a predominately industrial region. Over 20 per cent of the Netherlands' industrial companies are located in the region, covering activities in the automotive, chemicals, electronics, medical, metal industries. The area is also known as a centre of cargo handling and distribution. Maine cities in the region include the capital 's-Hertogenbosch, Breda, Eindhoven, Helmond, and Tilburg.

Located between Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Brussels, Rotterdam and Antwerp and close to the Rhine-Ruhr region of Germany, North Brabant is geographically well placed.

Economy:
The economy of the North Brabant region is characterised by a robust industrial component. The ICT sector is among the leaders with around 4,180 companies employing over 29,000 people in the production and distribution of components, sales and marketing and services. The electronics sector amounts to around 940 companies involved in the production and distribution in such areas as household products, office machines and medical equipment, employing almost 34,000 people.

According to BOM, the North Brabant Development Agency, almost one third of all Dutch research and development expenditure takes place in the province of North Brabant. Private companies in co-operation with the Technical University of Eindhoven (TUE) and the Agricultural University of Wageningen undertake the majority of this. Projects include automotive, information and communication technologies, multimedia, medical technology and biotechnology. In all, almost 11,500 people work in the R&D sector making the region one of the most R&D intensive regions of the Netherlands. Much of the R&D activity is centred around Philips Electronics. Based in Eindhoven, this is where the company is currently concentrating its core activities in the form of an R&D complex. When complete in 2005, the centre, which will consist of 30 state-of-the-art buildings and employ around 8,000 people will represent an investment of around $600 million.

The regions geographic location naturally lends itself to the handling and transport of goods and the logistics sector, including forwarding, storage, etc. employs over 42,000 people among around 3,445 companies. The chemicals sector is also well represented with some 545 companies employing in the region of 24,000 people.

The medical technologies, automotive, food processing and call centre sectors amount to around 2,130 companies accounting for over 74,000 employees. With over 900 companies employing over 30,000 people North Brabant is a major food processing region in the Netherlands accounting for over 30 per cent of the added value of the Netherlands food and food processing industry. The scope of the industry in the region includes confectionery, vegetable processing, meat processing, dairy, poultry, snack foods and animal feeds. Brewing is also a major industry in the region. A strong support industry has also grown around the food processing industry. This includes the provision of machinery, packaging and specialised logistics support. Den Bosch is the centre of the business support infrastructure which is also the centre for research and development in the sector. This includes the HAS Knowledge Transfer Centre which researches new technologies and support infrastructure.

Over 1200 foreign investors are located in North Brabant, including a large number of international companies such as Daewoo, Ericsson, Hitachi, Gillette, EMI and Fuji Photo Film.

Infrastructure:
North Brabant enjoys a strategically central location. A number of major world ports, international airports and major European cities are within easy reach. The region's proximity to the main transport corridors from the main NorthWestern European ports to the south and east has contributed to significant foreign investment. An extensive infrastructure of motorways, railways and waterways provides connections to international links.

Eindhoven airport provides access to all the major European cities. The emphasis is on a high volume of direct services to destinations including daily services to Amsterdam, Rotterdam, London Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester, London Stansted, Hamburg and Paris. Passenger throughput is in the region of 337,000 and almost 22,000 tonnes of cargo is handled annually.

The region's rail network provides frequent connections to other parts of The Netherlands and the surrounding countries of Belgium, France and Germany and all larger cities are serviced by freight carriers.

Brabant has its own seaport at Moerdijk, located on the Hollandsch Diep. It is the Netherlands' farthermost inland seaport less than a four hour sail from the North Sea. Situated on the hub of the large European inland shipping courses including the Rhine, the Meuse and Scheldt, the major ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp are within easy reach. Virtually every inland destination in the European hinterland can be accessed from Moerdijk.

In totals of loading and unloading of road cargo, North Brabant ranks second among all provinces in the Netherlands. Almost 17 per cent of the Netherlands' 1,500 transportation companies are based in the region. Thanks to a combination of specialised logistics companies, which provide services for specific sectors such as medical technology, electronics, and food processing and the regions geographic location, more than 700 multinationals have chosen the Netherlands as their central European distribution hub.

Workforce:
In a total workforce of a little over 1 million, some 641,000 are male and 413,000 female with a little over 603,000 in the 25-44 age range. Union membership in the province is among the lowest in the Netherlands.

Multilingual capability has been a Dutch trait for many years. Over the years, foreign investors have found this to be less of a barrier than in other European locations and as a consequence, the local workforce has developed extensive experience at coming to terms with foreign company culture. Around three-quarters of the residents of Brabant speak a foreign language in addition to their mother tongue. Around 50 per cent of them can speak two foreign languages and one in every ten speaks three languages.

Several higher vocational schools provide a strong education infrastructure. These include the University of Brabant in Tilburg and the Technical University of Eindhoven. In addition to this, there is a network of R&D institutions. These include the industry section of the Netherlands Institution for Applied Scientific Research the Dutch Polymer Institute and the Twinning Center. The institutions help to meet the needs of companies in the ICT, electronics, life sciences, multimedia, and automotive sectors.

In addition to the requirements of companies involved in R&D, there are seven universities for professional education throughout the province. Vocational training courses offered include economics, management, technology, accountancy, chemistry, agriculture, healthcare and art.

Quality of Life:
North Brabant offers a relatively high standard of living. A beautiful natural landscape, centuries-old culture, and a modern international environment make for an attractive style of life. Like much of the Netherlands, stability and tolerance characterise daily life.

The North Brabant region is used to welcoming foreign nationals. Children of overseas origin can choose from the American Elementary School in Uden, The Japanese Saturday School in Tilburg. The International Elementary and Secondary schools of Eindhoven offer courses taught in English, which follow the internationally recognised curricula of the University of Cambridge and the International Baccalaureate Organization in Geneva.