Automotive to life sciences

Flanders has a number of exceptionally strong sectors that continue to attract investment by businesses from other countries. These sectors include the automotive industry, logistics, chemical production, the life sciences and a number of high-tech ICT fields.

In the automotive industry, around one million cars a year are produced by the Ford, Opel (GM), Volkswagen and Volvo plants, while truck, bus and special-vehicle makers also turn out vehicles and components for the world market.

In logistics, the location of Flanders and the region's transport infrastructure have attracted a large number of both in-house and third-party operations, while in chemical production the Port of Antwerp is Europe's largest cluster and the world's second largest.

In the life sciences, the region has a long tradition in discovery research, production and distribution. There are a variety of global players in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices and medical imaging, as well as in support activities.

And, in the field of ICT, Flanders has become a leader in fields such as digital signal processing, with a cluster of international and local start-ups based around the university city of Leuven.

Flanders has focused on providing the right environment for these sectors and others to flourish - the right infrastructure, the right workforce, the right platform.