Insight

European businesses are seeing an explosion in the growth of information coming into their organisations, as well as an increase in the ways they access it. In fact, IDC predicts that the volume of data they receive will have increased six-fold over the past five years to 2015 and is set to continue at a similar rate. This presents a significant challenge for businesses in terms of making sense of the information accessed and delivering it in a cost-effective and time-efficient way.

IDC’s latest whitepaper: ‘Are your business processes stifling your market opportunity? Cost-efficient print and document management through smart MFPs’, identifies the need to get to grips with the exponential growth in access to information as being a key workplace trend that is driving many initiatives to improve business process efficiency.

 Emden is the third largest Germany North Sea port. It is a modern and highly productive universal facility that has evolved into one of Europe’s most significant roll-on/roll-off ports for new cars, and it plays a vital role in the emerging market for green energy, particularly wind energy. Components for both onshore and offshore facilities are manufactured, assembled and shipped in and out of Emden.  The port serves as a base for the pre-assembly, transport and maintenance of the facilities and equipment of multiple wind farms. Here, we interview, Lord Mayor of the City of Emden Mr. Bernd Bornemann, who explains the port’s significance.

More than a place, it’s a state of mind where ideas take control, where a collective approach is paramount; a place that creates the industrial intelligence of tomorrow.

If we were to choose 3 reasons for you to invest in Nantes-Saint-Nazaire we would pick:

1. A dynamic economy and a diversity of activities

Global industry leaders

Advanced manufacturing technologies

Foreign direct investment is a huge subject when viewed in the aggregate. Even when considering just portions of it – U.S. FDI, for example – it remains the large and lofty topic of international trade analysts, global statisticians, trade agreement negotiators and others involved in trillions of dollars and the economies of entire countries. That’s why governments deal with cross-border investment issues of this magnitude.

Maumelle, Arkansas is located in Central Arkansas and is part of the Little Rock MSA with all the advantages of the region plus the added bonus of being a smaller community with that “hometown” feeling. Maumelle is only minutes away from the state’s capital city, the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, and the Little Rock Port Authority/Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ #14). Midway between Mexico City and Montreal, Maumelle is centrally connected to both national and international markets by Interstates 30, 40, and 430.

As more European companies consider expansion plans in the United States, many are concerned about how to get started, where to locate, and what business risks there may be. Our NEE staff recently spoke with Greg Myers, a member of the JobsOhio-West team about what one U.S. state is doing to help answer those questions. JobsOhio is the new private sector approach to economic development in the State of Ohio.

“In Ohio we help companies understand the U.S. business environment and provide them with important data. This allows them to make informed business decisions,” Myers explained. Ohio has been very proactive and successful in bringing foreign direct investment projects to the state.

When economic development, education, research and community leaders team up, business opportunities bloom. That’s what’s happening in Indiana’s Technology Corridor, a nine-county, west-central Indiana area. The area is already home to global advanced manufacturing industries, breakthrough high-tech and life-science businesses, world-renowned Purdue University, Ivy Tech Community College and the new $213 million Hoosier Heartland Highway.

Lima, Ohio’s heritage has been a center for manufacturing with a dynamic workforce, excellent quality of life, transportation access and a pro-business climate. Home to strong global companies, distinctive attractions, unique local eateries, cultural activities and so much more make for great site location. Situated in Northwest Ohio at the crossroads of Interstate 75 and U.S. 30.

Perhaps the most visible sign of growth within the Lima/Allen County region is the ever-evolving presence of medical services. It seems that every time you turn around, there is another state-of-the-art facility being built or an existing medical center is expanding.