Econovista.com update. Find Fortune 500-2010 located in Paris Region.

Fortune Global 500 is a ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. The list is compiled and published annually by Fortune magazine.

In 2010, Paris Region remains Europe's first and world's second largest concentration of Fortune 500 headquaters, after Tokyo and ahead of New York or Greater London.
39 French companies appear in the ranking, among which 37 are located in Paris Region. The 8 first are: Axa, Total, BNP Paribas, Carrefour, GDF Suez, Crédit Agricole, EDF and Société Générale.

See the full 2010 ranking on Fortune Magazine's website.

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Econovista.com puts a map of the sustainable districts of Paris Region online

This new map identifies urban planning projects which aim to integrate sustainable development objectives and to reduce the ecological footprint of the region. These districts were the winners of a competition organised by the Île-de-France Regional Council to attribute a seal of quality to “New Urban Districts”, and by the State for their designation “Eco-district”. They had to comply with strict specifications regarding energy conservation, density and urban requalification.

Econovista.com puts this map of Île-de-France's sustainable districts at your disposal in both French and English. This new map identifies the 29 urban planning projects chosen by State and Regional Council competitions, as well as projects backed by the Regional Office of infrastructure as part of the State-Region Projects Contract 2007-2013 (CPER), of which the 'Big Project' (GP3), called “Intensify the attractiveness of Île-de-France”, is aimed at sustaining urban development operations.

By clicking on the + tab of the picto you are taken to a presentation of Île-de-France's sustainable districts, complete with a definition of the criteria behind the labels “Eco-district” and “New Urban Districts”, as well as a description of the 29 districts being developed in Île-de-France (labels, number of dwellings, web links ...).

Three types of sustainable districts are identified on this map:

• The “New Urban Districts”, stemming from the Regional Council competition, which respect a minimum density of 1500 dwellings in the “heart of the built-up area”. They favour brownfield sites or areas that are hardly urbanized in order to avoid encroaching on agricultural land or nature thus facilitating soft transport options. The chosen projects benefit not only from financial subsidies but also from contractual support, complete with concerted optimization of the project. I8 of these sites are listed in Île-de-France.

• “Eco-districts” and “Eco-towns” are the result of State competitions. An eco-district is officially defined as an “urban planning project aimed at integrating sustainable development objectives and reducing its ecological footprint. In this way, it must insist on taking into account the entire environmental issues at stake and set ambitious levels of strictness.” Launched at the same time, the Eco-town project rewards bigger scale sustainable urban planning strategies. 4 eco-districts and 1 eco-town have been designated in Île-de-France.

• The eco-district projects backed by Île-de-France's Regional Office of infrastructure. 12 in number, they are spread over 6 regional and national areas (OIN (National urban development schemes), new towns,...) considered important for the region's development : Plaine de France and the Roissy area ; Seine Aval and Cergy-Pointoise ; the whole of Marne-la-Vallée up to Meaux ; Orly Rungis and Seine Amont ; the Massy-Palaiseau/Saclay/Versailles/St-Quentin-en-Yvelines area ; the whole of Melun and Sénart.

Click here to go directly to the map in English.
Click here to go directly to the map in French.

This work was undertaken by the ARD (Paris Region Economic Development Agency) in association with the Île-de-France regional council, in a move to promote and develop the Île-de-France eco-region.

Econovista.com is a free mapping tool which shares economic intelligence about Île-de-France. Backed today by more than 20 regional and county partners, the site Econovista.com offers 12 topical maps showcasing Île-de-France's wealth and economic potential.

Browse the site now and discover the different sides to this area … sites perfect for business accommodation with model transport infrastructure, sectors of expertise, research centres, implantation support organizations and Île-de-France's cutting edge clusters.

Finally, Econovista.com holds all the keys to making the right choices regarding your implantation: find the business contacts you want by using the different levels of zoom on the map, download contact numbers and addresses of the right people, find the links to their websites, etc

Airports. Satellite 4, a new passenger terminal extension at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport

On 3 June 2010 Pierre Graff, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aéroports de Paris, unveiled plans for the future Satellite 4 at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Aéroports de Paris says the new facility is intended first and foremost to improve passenger service: it will take passengers less than 3 minutes to reach Satellite 4 from Terminal 2E via automatic light rail. The departure lounge will match the highest international standards in terms of passenger service quality.

“We designed the passenger route to Satellite 4 to resemble a stroll through the city of Paris. Travellers arrive at an elegant metro station and then walk through a shopping mall, modelled on the department store and featuring France’s most iconic brands, before reaching a showcase of European technology, the departure lounge, that offers an unrestricted view of Airbus A380 aircraft. The passenger experience will be one of the city, culture and modernity,” explains chief architect François Tamisier.

More information

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New map. Econovista.com putting a new map online in partnership with the ‘Systematic’ competitiveness cluster

Econovista.com has just provided you with a new map, “Systematic’s Ecosystem”.

This new “cluster” map features competitiveness cluster member-SMEs listed by theme (Automotive & Transport, Freeware, System Design and Development Tools, Security & Defence, Telecoms) as well as major Groups and Research and Higher Education facilities.
Beyond cluster members, Systematic nurtures close relationships with over 650 players in optics, electronics and software channels, also featured on the map. As a genuinely integrated ecosystem, the Systematic cluster represents a competitive world-class territory in the market of complex systems design, production and control.

At this time, the following are featured on the map:
• Systematic cluster members:

- SMEs broken down into five categories matching the cluster’s 5 theme groups: (Automotive & Transport, Freeware, System Design and Development Tools, Security & Defence, Telecoms)
- Research and Higher Education facilities
- Major Groups

• A wider selection of players, completing the cluster’s ecosystem:
- SMEs, broken down into three categories: Software, Optics, Electronics

Check out the Systematic map on Econovista.com

Lastly, www.econovista.com provides you with all of the functionalities you need to help you assess your options in getting established: zooming in and out at will, you can locate the business players you wish to see featured on the map, download the address and contact details of appropriate contacts, get the links towards the players’ websites and much more.

Regional news. Hauts-de-Seine – the second most popular location choice for businesses in Paris Region

Located directly adjacent to the La Défense business district and boasting an exceptional economic environment, the département of Hauts-de-Seine is one of the most attractive locations within Paris Region.
Outside the capital itself this is the region’s leading area for company start-ups, and today hosts 99,052 businesses, with 825,000 employees and a total population of 1.55 million.

This is also the no.2 area for international company location in Paris Region, hosting 2,500 international businesses, one third from the USA.
Hauts-de-Seine offers optimum conditions for hosting businesses, with a dense, high-quality real estate offering totalling 11.7 million sq.m, concentrating nearly half of all office premises marketed in Paris Region as a whole.

Hauts-de-Seine is located at the hub of a dense transport network, with Metro, RER and motorway connections ensuring easy accessibility to all the key regional, European and international economic centres.

Key sectors:
-Digital and ICT (23,600 companies, 276,100 jobs)
-Healthcare and biotechnology (5,300 organisations, 25,000 jobs)
-Finance and insurance (3,000 organisations, 78,000 jobs)
-B2B services (30,000 companies, 338,000 jobs)

Research – key figures:
300 research centres
15,000 researchers
77,000 students

La Défense – key figures:
-Europe’s no.1 business district
-160 hectares
- 3 million sq.m of offices
-3,500 companies, 1,500 head offices, 170,000 employees
-Europe’s no.1 public transport network
-230,000 sq.m of local retail outlets

Sources: Les Hauts-de-Seine, un territoire à vocation internationale; Enjoy La Défense Seine-Arche
Photos: © ARD/Michel Derouault

*******************
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Regional news. Plaine Commune celebrates its tenth birthday by launching an ambitious development plan.

Plaine Commune, the second-largest agglomeration community in Paris Region, is celebrating its tenth birthday by launching an ambitious development plan. The eight towns belonging to the intercommunal structure – Aubervilliers, Epinay-sur-Seine, La Courneuve, L’Ile-Saint-Denis, Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, Saint-Denis, Stains and Villetaneuse – recently approved a five-year investment plan (2010-2015) as part of the sustainable development plan approved in 2007 (the ‘Plan d’Aménagement et de Développement Durable’, abbreviated as PADD). One of the flagship projects covers public planning schemes, including urban and residential development projects like the Ecoquartier (eco-neighbourhood) on Ile-Saint-Denis in the Seine river, the ZAC-Canal (Canal business park) in Aubervilliers and Campus Condorcet (see article (in french only)

To find out more, read the Plaine Commune sustainable development plan in full (French only).

Plaine-Commune in brief:
Dynamic economic sectors:
Banking/insurance
ICT
Energy (EDF)
Aerospace (Eurocopter, Delage Aéro, Précilec)

Transport links
Extension of two Metro lines (12 and 13), two RER (high-speed metro) lines (B and D), light railway, two motorways (A86 and A1), three planned light railway links and a proposed TGV (high-speed rail) station.

Teaching and research:
Plaine-Commune has a total of 1,500 university research/teaching staff, divided between three institutions (Paris 8, Paris 13 and CNAM) and 40,000 students. The community also has two technology platforms – focused on engineering/production materials and art/science/technology – whose role is to forge links between the research centres and innovative businesses.

Real estate:
In 2009, the agglomeration community offered 1,400,000 m² of office space, with plans for a further 926,000 m² to be developed.

Source: Les Echos du 17/02/2010; www.plainecommune.fr

© Plaine Commune/DMS

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Meeting. Innov'eco turns the spotlight on bioenergy and biomaterials

PREDA, the Paris Region Economic Development Agency, invites you to the next session of INNOV’ECO, dedicated to bioenergy and biomaterials, which takes place at the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine from 8.30 am to 1 pm on 17 June 2010.

How and to what extent can biomass – plant-derived materials – be used to replace fossil energy for transport, insulation, construction, chemicals and even the production of heat and electricity?
At a time when we are rediscovering wood and its derivatives for use as fuel and materials, how are the relevant sectors and professions responding?
What are the consequences in terms of regional planning and how can industry be transformed to create a circular, regional economy?
Do green biotechnology and biochemicals offer an alternative to petrochemicals as we move towards a low-carbon economy?

Source: www.paris-region.com
To register for the event (French only)

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ICT. Spotlight on 3D technologies in Seine-Saint-Denis, from 1 to 3 June

From 1 to 3 June 2010, for the second year running, Seine-Saint-Denis will be hosting Dimension 3 at Dock Pullman – an international forum dedicated to S-3D technologies, augmented reality and virtual reality.

The forum, which is co-organised by the agency Avance Rapide Communication and the economic development agency Seine-Saint-Denis Avenir, comprises three main strands:
-A three-day programme of talks and workshops for professionals in the sector
-An exhibition area for demonstrating and showcasing products
-A film festival, Dimension 3 Festival, the first international festival presenting feature films, short films, documentaries and event broadcasts using 3D technologies.

With Dimension 3, an event designed to promote economic, professional and international development in the technical, economic, scientific and cultural issues relating to S-3D imaging, the Seine-Saint-Denis region is positioning itself in a highly dynamic market – as Marie Hélène Tramus, a lecturer at Paris 8 University in Seine-Saint-Denis and leader of the digital imaging and virtual reality research group in the imaging arts and technologies laboratory, confirms: “For us, Dimension 3 is an opportunity to showcase our expertise and our scientific research in the fields of synthetic and high-tech imaging. We are especially delighted that this year the département of Seine Saint-Denis has given us free rein to celebrate 25 years of our course and our research laboratory as part of this international forum”.

Source: seinesaintdenisavenir.fr

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Trade shows. Business aviation in Paris Region the focus in Geneva

Paris Region’s business aviation and aeronautical sector had been represented at the 10th European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE), from 4 to 6 May 2010 in Geneva. This year, the Seine-Saint-Denis Avenir Economic Development Agency coordinated the presence of the following Hubstar Paris® partners: Paris Region, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val d’Oise and Paris Airports.

The “Hubstar Paris®” group presents the advantages of the Paris-Le-Bourget platform and surrounding areas, which are key European locations for business development and economic activity. For the economic development agencies of Val d'Oise, Seine-et-Marne and Seine-Saint-Denis Avenir, the Paris Region Economic Development Agency and Paris Airports, this industry trade show was an opportunity to promote business aviation in Paris Region from the standpoint of activities, businesses, services and local areas.

Contact: ebeaufils@ccip.fr

Source: www.hubstar-paris-blog.com

© Dassault Aviation

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Competitiveness cluster. Medicen, a cluster for innovative therapies and advanced technologies in healthcare

At the heart of the Paris Region, first-ranking economic area in Europe, the cluster Medicen brings together the largest drug and health technologies companies, the strongest concentration of researchers, hospitals and universities in France, and benefits from the commitment the State and regional/counties authorities. It takes advantage of all the assets that a metropolis can provide in terms of financial, real estate and transportation infrastructures.

Initiated in 2005 as a result of the remarkable collaborative dynamism that united businesses, clinicians and academics in their response to the French government's call for proposals, the Medicen Paris Region cluster unites all the key life science and healthcare players in the Paris metropolitan area. Located at the heart of Europe's leading regional economy, the Cluster constitutes the highest concentration of healthcare expertise and resources in Europe.

With strong support from the French State, the Paris Region Regional Council, local authorities and economic development organizations, Medicen Paris Region is determined to reinforce the international competitiveness, visibility and attractiveness of the Paris region in life sciences and make it one of the world's top metropolitan areas for therapeutic innovation.

The cluster uses dynamic collaboration and networking to organize the very numerous regional health players around priority themes, in order to build a true cluster, innovate more effectively and boost the region’s national and international attractiveness. Its location in the Paris Region must be considered as a key success factor in the health care and pharmaceutical technology sectors, whether it be for an innovative start-up, a small business or a major company.

Source : Medicen Paris Region

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Regions. Val-de-Marne, a place of excellence for imaging and healthcare technologies

With a surface area of 234 km2, Val-de-Marne is one of France’s smallest regional departments, yet in terms of population it ranks 10th in the country. Its proximity to Orly, France’s second airport, the Ports of Paris and the Rungis International Market makes the region both attractive and dynamic. It currently has 200,000 m2 of office space, with another 340,000 m2 planned over the next five years, and its high-quality transport infrastructure includes five RER lines, three metro lines and the A86 motorway link between the A6 and A4.


Its economic sectors
Imaging:
This sector, which has grown up around the INA (French National Audiovisual Institute), Société Française de Production and French National Geographic Institute, represents an area of future growth. Val-de-Marne is also home to some of the biggest names in the industrial world, such as Kodak, Nikon and Olympus, as well as Le Monde’s printing facility and XD Production. The department boasts Europe’s largest imaging and sound training centre, INA Formation, as well as schools of graphic design (École européenne supérieure d’animation and the national training and applications institute) and engineering (École française d’Électronique et d’informatique - French school of electronics and computer science).

See who is a member of the digital sector’s cluster Cap Digital on Econovista, the free interactive economic map of Paris Region

Healthcare:
Val-de-Marne is home to five university hospitals, two faculties of medicine (Paris XI and Paris XII), the Institute of Bioscience, the Paris Institute of Biotechnology and the Institute of Higher Education in Biomedical Science. Major international corporations have chosen Val-de-Marne as a location, including Sanofi-Aventis, Essilor, L'Oréal, Setpodont and Boiron Menarini.
In numbers, Val-de-Marne has 33 biomedical companies, 23 pharmaceutical companies, 10 clinical trial companies, 2,000 researchers, 74 government research laboratories, and 30 technology platforms.

Plot the R&D stakeholders in Val-de-Marne’s healthcare sector on Econovista, the free interactive economic map of Paris Region

Food industry:
One of the department’s largest business platforms is Rungis International Market, a critical component of the food distribution industry that groups together more than 1,300 businesses (wholesalers, brokers, producers/sellers, import/export companies, service providers and accessory suppliers). Val-de-Marne is also home to major groups such as Danone, Lavazza and Nestlé Waters.

Eco-technologies:
Val-de-Marne is where the educational and research cluster based at Paris XII University conducts its research on air, water, soil and thermal power.

Plot the stakeholders in the eco-technology sector on Econovista, the free interactive economic map of Paris Region

© CNRS Thiais

For more info, visit Agence Economique du Val-de-Marne

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Rankings. London and Paris – leading the European cultural industry

The figures contained in the European Cluster Observatory’s report on the cultural industry speak for themselves: in 2006, cultural and creative industries provided 6.5 million jobs in Europe. These activities are typically concentrated in the larger cities, but it was London and Paris which stood out the most, followed by Milan and Amsterdam.

Paris Region employs more than 300,000 people in the cultural industry, compared with 235,000 for London. Berlin trails behind with just 60,000 jobs in the cultural and creative field. Paris Region is the leading European employer in advertising, literary creation, museum activities and the preservation of historical sites. London, on the other hand, leads in the field of radio and television.

The study also illustrates the link between high concentrations of cultural industries and a region’s prosperity. “The increase in the number of businesses involved in culture is fuelled by our thirst for cultural products, new forms of entertainment, distraction, and inspiration,” such as computer games and web design, reports the study.

Source: innocity.fr

Photo : Versailles

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Competitiveness cluster. SYSTEM@TIC PARIS REGION, the cluster at the heart of the digital revolution

SYSTEM@TIC PARIS REGION develops key tools and technologies in the field of software-dominant systems, focusing its activities on three application markets with a strong social dimension: transport, telecoms and security.
The cluster is based on an ecosystem comprising some 900 SMEs, dynamic drivers of innovation representing more than 35,000 jobs related to the cluster’s core specialisms: software, electronics and optics. They all share certain defining characteristics which mark them out as:

• Innovative – dedicating a significant proportion of their revenues to R&D
• Prioritising a path to growth based on a collaborative approach
• Positioned in the cluster’s target markets and technologies.

Advantages of cluster membership:
• Access to and participation in strategic and specialist projects in each of the working groups
• Participation in R&D projects
• Visibility
• Building contacts (R&D, business, finance, etc.)

In order to help innovative Paris Region SMEs to maintain a global standard of competitiveness and to optimise their innovative capability, SYSTEM@TIC has set itself the mission of supporting SMEs operating in the high-tech fields of software, systems, electronics and optics. The ability to innovate is the key challenge currently facing SMEs in order to maintain their competitiveness in the global marketplace and offer an alternative to delocalisation.

The “AMBITION PME” programme
SYTEM@TIC has been appointed by Paris Region and the French government to lead a programme of initiatives in Optics and Complex Systems, in partnership with the Paris Region network of regional chambers of commerce and industry (CRCIs) and Opticsvalley.
“Ambition PME”, supported by the state and by the regional authorities, aims to help create optimum conditions for the development of innovative Paris Region SMEs with high growth potential working in high-tech sectors: software, systems, electronics and optics. This programme represents an exceptional opportunity to capitalise and showcase one of the region’s key strengths, to support the growth of high-tech SMEs and to raise Paris Region’s profile in the global high-tech sector.

Source: www.systematic-paris-region.com

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Trade shows. Paris and its region welcome the world

As the European leader in trade shows and events, the Paris Region can rely on an extraordinary level of expertise, an impressive logistics capability and the amazing cultural and tourist attraction exerted by this region worldwilde. The Paris Region has the largest exhibition capacity in Europe, with a total floor area of 620 000 m², as well as many more extensions and new construction projects in the pipeline. That’s certainly the case with the new hall now under construction at the Paris Villepinte xhibition Center, which, at 36 000 m², will increase the total covered exhibition area to 236 000 m².

The region has long been the world capital for international conventions, and will be increasing the number of options available over the longer term, with the construction of brand-new convention centers. Projects include Eurodisney, where the opening of a new center covering more than 20 000 m² will be accompanied by additional accommodation capacity in the shape of a totally new hotel, and Orly airport, which is bulding a facility of equivalent size.

The seconde great strength of our region is the fact that it hosts such an impressive number of major exhibitions: more than 400 every year. The other great attraction of Paris Region trade shows and convention is, of course, the economic power and international image of Paris an its surrounding region. As Europe(s largest marketplace, this is the preferred hub from which 490 million European consumers.

Finally, the sheer organizational quality of the trade shows and conventons held here is another powerful advantage for the region. In terms of venues, the choice on offer is very easy to understand and interpret, and has been further simplified with the grouping together under the Viparis indetity of ten major venues previously managed separately by their two owners.

Source : Paris-Region Magazine, issue 9, march 2010 www.paris-region.com

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Business parks. Sénart, an outstanding place to live and work

Bordered by the forests of Sénart and Rougeau, and set alongside the winding course of the River Seine, Sénart offers an unspoilt environment for living and working in. Businesses located here – in immediate proximity to Evry, Corbeil-Essonnes and the Carré Sénart retail park – have within reach all the services and facilities they need to grow.

Greenparc
Bordered by the Greenparc golf course, this business park boasts an outstanding location, offering fast access to the Francilienne ring road and the A6 and A5 motorways, with Paris-Orly airport just 20 minutes away. Greenparc offers development sites suitable for premises of 500 to 2,500 m², for the use of high value-added service-sector and high-tech businesses.

Les Vergers
Plots available for the development of 5,000 m² premises for the use of manufacturers, distributors and trading companies seeking to benefit from an upmarket image and a prestigious landscape setting fronting the Francilienne ring road.

La Clef de Saint-Pierre
This mixed-use 28-hectare business park will offer 15 hectares dedicated to businesses, combining an eco-neighbourhood with a range of services. It will offer real-estate opportunities enjoying an exceptionally good location, linking the centre of Saint-Pierre-du-Perray with the Carré Sénart complex at the heart of Sénart new town.

Le Gravois
A prestigious location bordering Sénart forest, reserved for large-scale projects with more than 50 hectares available as a single unit.

Le Carré Sénart
The Carré Sénart complex effectively forms the hub of Sénart new town, hosting many retail and leisure facilities and administrative services. This urban centre continues to grow steadily with development projects including offices, retail outlets and leisure facilities.

Source: “Votre entreprise à Sénart en Essonne”, EPA Sénart (Sénart development agency)

© EPA Senart - Philippe Caumes

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Competitiveness cluster. ASTech Paris Region, at the heart of aerospace research

The ASTech Paris Region aerospace competitiveness cluster is France’s leading employment hub in the field of aeronautics, space and embedded systems, concentrating more than 100,000 people and the majority of R&D personnel in this field in France.

Specialisms:
• Vehicle architecture and equipment
• On-board energy
• Employment, training & research
• Testing & instrumentation
• Aeronautical maintenance
• Materials and processes
• Propulsion

ASTech Paris Region helps SMEs position themselves more effectively within the industrial landscape of the region’s aerospace sector by:
• enabling them to participate in collaborative projects such as those supported by the FUI (Fonds Unique Interministériel – Single Interministerial Fund), the ANR (French National Research Agency), and the Framework Programs for Research and Technological Development;
• raising their profile with the technical departments of client operations;
• offering them opportunities to upgrade their expertise (e.g. through EN 9100 accreditation);
• facilitating access to training providers, to the world of science (internships, doctoral research), and to the many, diverse testing facilities in Paris Region.

Beyond questions of market positioning, within the ASTech Paris Region cluster SMEs can find a network of experts, systems for monitoring market developments and economic intelligence empowering them to devise and develop projects capitalising on technological innovations in partnership with other manufacturers and research laboratories.
Thanks to its network and the opportunities offered by state departments, ASTech Paris Region offers its member SMEs the opportunity to develop their commercial activities for export markets. Finally, strong support from the local and regional authorities for the ASTech Paris Region cluster is a major advantage driving the expansion of the region’s aerospace industry, offering unique growth opportunities to innovative SMEs based in Paris Region.

Source: www.pole-astech.org

© Dassault - Falcon

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Region. Essonne, an outstanding location for research

Essonne is a uniquely dynamic and attractive region located south of Paris. It has a highly qualified labour pool, accounting for 25% of all researchers in Paris Region and including 45,000 graduates from many of the region’s top universities (Polytechnique, Supélec, Télécom Paris Sud, the universities of Orsay and Ivry, etc.).

Businesses here benefit from the proximity not just of higher education institutions but also of public research laboratories including the CNRS (the French National Centre for Scientific Research), INRIA (the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control), CEA (the French Atomic Energy Commission) and INSERM (the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research). The area also hosts the Synchrotron facility and Génopole, a campus pooling cutting-edge biotechnology research equipment ¬– giving it genuine added value in terms of research and development.

Today Essonne is home to more than 30,000 SMEs and 400 corporations with more than 100 employees, including very large groups like Sanofi-Aventis, Safran, Danone, Thalès, Ericsson, Renault and Motorola. These companies frequently work with SMEs within the System@TIC Paris Region, Médicen, Astech Paris Region, Mov’eo and Cap Digital competitiveness clusters – groupings which help companies pool their expertise in joint projects, combining their strengths to boost their international attractiveness.

On the infrastructure side, Orly airport, the A6 and A10 motorways and three RER (high-speed metro) routes make Essonne a highly attractive location for companies seeking access to the French and European markets. Essonne’s facilities for hosting businesses include three start-up centres, 14 business incubators, five business hotels and 36 business centres.

© C.Kermarrec - SOLEIL

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Information and Communication Technologies. Digiteo, a leading world-class research park

Digiteo, Paris Region’s research park in the field of information and communication science and technology (ICT), will concentrate the expertise of 1,800 researchers in the Plateau de Saclay campus with effect from this year. The park is focused on excellence, setting itself the goal of becoming the leading international ICT research park. Its fields of excellence are the design and development of software-intensive systems, from system-on-a-chip to supercomputing and major software infrastructures, including embedded systems and robotics.

In terms of the research institutions involved, founding members CEA (the French Atomic Energy Commission), CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research), École Polytechnique (France’s premier engineering school), Supelec (engineering school specialising in energy and information science), INRIA (National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control) and Université Paris Sud 11 were joined by ENS Cachan, Université de Versailles St-Quentin and École Centrale Paris in 2008. “Institut Telecom should also be included as it will be moving a large part of its research to the plateau in five years’ time, as part of the Campus plan,” explains Digiteo’s Director Maurice Robin, “as well as Mines Paris Tech and ENSTA-ParisTech which are also planning to locate here. Digiteo’s priority is to facilitate the pooling of expertise as well as providing support and additional resources to finance the implementation of specific research projects.”

Building a bridge between fundamental research and industry, and accelerating technology transfer, are core concerns. “Each Digiteo member has its own technology transfer operation and so Digiteo adds value by focusing on activities relating to joint projects involving at least two research laboratories, in order to build synergies and generate projects while creating quantifiable economic value,” notes Digiteo’s Director.

New facilities which will accommodate around 1,000 additional researchers are currently under construction in order to enable Digiteo to continue its expansion and to fulfil its immense potential as a key research hub. Planning permissions have been granted for three Saclay projects: at the CEA site, on Plateau du Moulon and at Palaiseau. These projects are being financed partly by Paris Region, by the Essonne Conseil Général (district council) and the Communauté de Communes du Plateau de Saclay (community of Plateau de Saclay town councils), as well as by the research park’s founding institutions.

Source: RÉUSSIR No.120, January/February 2010

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Commercial real estate. River Ouest, an outstanding location just 15 minutes from La Défense

The French subsidiary of EMC Computer Systems, one of the global leaders in IT, has opted to locate to Bezons, occupying 8,000 of the 64,000 m² of floorspace available in the new River Ouest development. The choice of River Ouest, a commercial development meeting the highest standards in terms of both prestige and sustainable development, reflects the company’s commitment to building its business in a socially and environmentally responsible way.

EMC’s arrival gives a further boost to the new business district located on the Seine riverside – a project launched by the Argenteuil-Bezons district authority. Alongside River Ouest’s 64,000 m², a further 67,000 m² of new offices are scheduled for development here. As well as offering an outstanding location on the Seine riverside and office facilities with “high energy performance” (HPE) rating, the area will also benefit from a new T2 light railway station opening in 2011 – making it just a 15-minute journey to La Défense.

Source: L’économie en Val d’Oise, no.16, [Q1 2010]

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Transport networks. Paris Region, a major logistical hub in Europe

Its geographical location, at the crossroads of Nothern, Southern and Esatern Europe, the richness of its communication networks and multimodal platforms, and their environmentally-focused development combine to make the Paris Region a major European logistics hub. Few areas in the world can boast as many logistical assets as the Paris Region.

Firstly, its geographic position
Located at the crossroads of European and world exchanges, this region, which totals 11.5 million inhabitants and play host to more than 600,000 companies, is the second business cluster of the 500 leading companies. Secondly, the multiplicity of its transportation modes is remarkable. Its two main international airports – Paris Orly and more importantly Paris Charles de Gaulle – and the Bourget airport for business aviation make it the Number One European airport hub. The same ranking is achieved when you consider its highway network, with its 700 km of highway which branch out across the entire continent and its 12,000 km of roadways. Regarding its rail network, it arouses the envy of other largest international regions with its six high-speed train stations and its direct lines to London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, along with its 111 freight stations and 640 sites directly connected to them. Lastly, its river transportation system, which ranks #2 on the continent, is especially developed, with 70 ports and 10 multimodal platforms spread over its 500 km of waterways.

World leaders have chosen the Paris Region
It is not surprising, under these conditions, that large world enterprises specialized in logistics have chosen the Paris Region as their location. Of the 5,000 companies in the business that are registered there, we note the presence of the leading names in the industry such as Air France, Cargo, FedEx, UPS, DHL, Hays Logistics, Geodis, Prologis and TNT. “It was crucial tp be at the center of a large European economic zone with an extensive labor pool and, as is the case at Roissy, to take advantage of their connections with other countries, for example Africa”, explains Nathalie Amiel-Ferrault, Vice-President Consumer Experience at FedEx Europe, Middle East, India and Africa.

© Aéroports de paris / Photothèque du laboratoire

Source: Paris-Region Magazine, issue 9, march 2010

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