Wallonia | Business opportunities | Chemicals, iron and steel, glass and textiles

Traditional Wallonia industries

chemicals - an integral part of every major sector

With its 200 companies, 25,000 jobs and a turnover of 10 billion euros, this traditional sector is the second largest industrial employer and an important driver of economic growth in the region.

Invest in the chemicals industry in Wallonia, and you will benefit from:

-  A long tradition of research and innovation. We need only mention the famous Belgian industrial chemist Ernest Solvay,
- Essential support for outstanding scientific research,
- Complete processes, from R&D to implementation through to production,
- A stimulating business environment in all of the major sectors, including the following:

• Pharmaceutical chemistry
• Synthetic chemistry, plastics etc.
• Enzyme chemistry
• Agribusiness chemistry
• Biotechnology chemistry
• Petrochemistry

- Preferential access to risk capital
- Availability of some of the most attractive public incentives available worldwide,
- An efficient pipeline distribution network for basic raw materials (olefin, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen) and energy fluids (natural gas),
- An important chemicals centre within the Feluy-Seneffe-Manage triangle (more than 10 companies, mostly linked to petrochemistry),
- The availability of fully serviced industrial sites in over 130 industrial parks located close to the main transport arteries and relatively distanced from urban areas,
- The development of new areas within fine chemistry (pharmacy, cosmetics); a dense network of chemical companies facilitating the creation of synergies as well as numerous specialised subcontractors (engineering and design services, sheet metalworking, industrial piping etc.),
- High quality workforce: Standard of education (widely recognised university qualifications) and training (excellent technical training), productivity of workforce (hourly productivity levels in the chemicals industry is ranked second globally, just after the U.S.), highly motivated managers and employees, continuous retraining of employees, internal and external mobility amongst managers,
- Outstanding potential in terms of science and technology.

Link :

http://www.fedichem.be

Federation of the Belgian Chemical Industries   

iron and steel industry and metal construction

The Belgian metal and equipment industry currently processes twenty different metals divided into three categories: Base metals (aluminium, copper, lead, zinc, tin), precious metals (gold, silver, platinum etc.) and special metals (germanium, cobalt, indium etc.). Companies either produce "raw metals" in the form of ingots, slugs etc., or "semi-finished" products (wires, bars, shapes, tubes, sheets etc.). The sector employs approximately 17,200 people.

Today, the iron and steel sector draws on a wide range of suppliers and subcontractors working in increasingly high-tech areas. Numerous companies have been set up in Wallonia for this reason. These companies specialise in handling, packaging and industrial strapping, lamination, the monitoring of liquid steel flow, the manufacture of ovens as well as metal parts, moulded parts and components for electronic and computerised automation, ventilators and blowers, burners and valves etc.

Agoria (Belgium's largest employers' organisation and trade association) has made some important investments in order to better face the challenges of tomorrow. It keeps companies updated on the changes taking place in the European iron and steel market in order to allow these companies to equip themselves in the best possible conditions and enhance their business environment. It also encourages the intensification of research into new products that are likely to contribute to the lowering of greenhouse gases.

When it comes to specialisation, the iron and steel industry is no exception to this rule. The Wallonia Region is spearheading a vast operation aimed at the promotion of technical training courses. In order to develop a qualified workforce, it has made these technical training courses more attractive and has promoted integration by increasing the range of courses on offer.

Three Technifutur centres of excellence offer the latest in training methodologies. By continuously monitoring changes within the industries and by matching company requirements with employer qualifications, these centres provide the very latest in professional skills throughout the Wallonia region.

second largest producer of flat glass in europe

Glass is another example of a traditional sector that is undergoing restructuring today.
As the second largest producer of flat glass in Europe and the leading producer in central and eastern Europe the Glaverbel group holds the number one position in Europe in advanced glass technologies thanks to its strategy of sustained research. Its entire production is geared towards the construction and automobile industries as well as specific industrial sectors.

In Wallonia, the glass sector consists of 58 operating bases, of which 27 specialise in glass production. The Wallonia glass industry represents 3% of the turnover and 4% of the added value produced by the combined industries of Wallonia, as well as production volumes in excess of 1.4 million tonnes per year.

The glass industry in Wallonia is not typical of other European glass industries as it produces more flat glass than anywhere else in Europe, where the emphasis is more on the production of hollow glass. The volume of flat glass produced in Wallonia represents 15% of European production volumes and 3.5% of the global production of flat glass. Wallonia is the second largest producer of flat glass in Europe.

textileS sector

Having experienced the effects of globalisation at a very early stage, the textile industry in Wallonia responded to this challenge by developing high value-added products and carving out important market niches, notably in the area of automotive and aeronautic subcontracting.

Link :

FEBELTEX

Belgian Federation of the textile Industry

proven ability to adapt to change

Responding to market demand, the traditional industries in Wallonia have concentrated their efforts on developing innovative and increasingly high-tech products. To take a few examples:

• Iron and steel: Anti-corrosion metals, mechanical wear and stress,
• Glass: Radiation-shielding glass, rain-protected glass and flame retardant glass,
• Construction materials: Solidified ceramics produced by applying a current at micron or even nanometre level,
• Chemicals: Enhanced plastics, achieved in particular by introducing additives that modify colour, resistance etc .,
• Textiles: Flame-retardant textiles, textiles that are impermeable to water but permeable to air, ultra-light textiles and aerodynamic textiles,