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PFAFF II
[EDIT: Eijsden, July 14]
Patriotism has been politically incorrect in most of Europe since WWII, which makes it difficult for newcomers, springing from different traditions to identify viscerally with their new home. It also constrains the natural expression...[more]
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TNT ACQUIRES EURO MAIL
[BIZ/LOG: Amsterdam, July 15]
Mail, express and logistics company TNT N.V. has acquired the Dutch print and mailing house Euro Mail through Cendris, part of TPG Post. The positioning of Euro Mail is geared to Direct Marketing for SMEs, adding an important range...[more]
MACINTOSH H1 2005
[BIZ: Maastricht, July 13]
Turnover from the continuing activities of Macintosh Retail Group (excluding Superconfex) fell by 2.5% from EUR 375.2m to EUR 365.8m in the first half of 2005, while non-food spending in the Netherlands decreased by 4.1% in the first...[more]
22 STORES TO BR BEDDING
[BIZ: Maastricht, July 13]
Superconfex has reached agreement on the sale to BR Bedding of the trading activities of 22 of the 42 stores it operates in Belgium. All 130 employees with permanent contracts working in the 22 stores will transfer to BR Bedding while...[more]
SMEETS BOUW: NEW OWNER
[BIZ: Maastricht, July 13]
Tom van der Ven (52) has become a 50% stockholder in the Smeets Group (Smeets Bouw, Smeets Bouwservice and Smeets Planontwikkeling), one of the few remaining mid-sized construction companies in Limburg (NL). Smeets was established...[more]
SUPERCONFEX CLOSES HQ&DC
[BIZ: Maastricht, July 12]
As all Superconfex NV’s Belgian stores will be transferred away from the Macintosh Retail Group in 2005, there will be no requirement for the head office and distribution center in Stein, which will accordingly close by December 2005...[more]
NEDCAR JOB LOSSES
[IND: Born, July 12]
NedCar has agreed with its social partners on the redundancy of 368 production workers on January 1. In the short term, a further 300 production workers will be assigned to a separate, as yet to be established, labor pool, which will offer...[more]
MAÜRER & WIRTZ’S SUPERWOMAN
[BIZ: Stolberg, July 12]
Veronica Ferres, the German actress, celebrated for her role in Superwoman [Superweib] , a film by Sönke Wortmann, is to be the face behind - Tabac line producer - Mäurer & Wirtz’s new fragrance. The new fragrance series for ladies will...[more]
DSM SELLS RYMCO STAKE
[BIZ: Heerlen, July 12]
DSM has announced that it has agreed to sell its 50% share interest in South African yeast products manufacturer Rymco to its joint venture partner Daniel Mills & Sons. The total proceeds of the share transfer for DSM amount to EUR 39...[more]
LIOF AND BUNDEL BUNDLE
[BIZ: Heerlen, July 12]
LIOF Business Center and Bundel.biz are getting together to encourage businesses to get to know one another better, to promote cooperation and to optimize the use of facilities and services. Both parties will be meeting July 18 at 14:00...[more]
FLEXIBLE WORKING HOURS
[BIZ/GOV: Eupen, July 12]
An Interreg IIIA project on flexible working hours - confusingly called ‘Euro Mobile Time’ - was presented, with an overview of trends and current practice in business in Meuse-Rhine, in a workshop at the DG government building in Eupen...[more]
PREUVENEMINT 2005
[BIZ/LEI: Maastricht, July 11]
Maastricht’s annual gastronomic fair, which draws visitors from far and wide, will be with us again at the end of August. The festival, now in its 24th year, will present 40 restaurants from the region, working together on 33 stands,...[more]
BIOGAS ON THE FARM
[BIZ: Aachen, July 10]
100 Farmers in the Aachen region are planning to develop three biogas plants. They want to develop a new energy source, as a EU directive is compelling them to leave 8% of their arable land fallow this year. One biogas plant is being applied...[more]
EUR 7.6M PROFIT FOR FORD GENK
[IND: Genk, July 9]
Ford Genk has made a profit last year after four years without profit: the result was EUR 7.6m. This was revealed by an internal annual report, made available to Het Belang van Limburg. The annual report also showed that at the end of 2004,...[more]
MONEY FOR TOURISM
[BIZ/LEI: Hasselt, July 9]
Within the Limburg Plan, approved by the Flemish Government, there is apparently adequate funding for tourism, according to Geert Bourgeois (N-VA), Minister of Tourism. The government is making a direct investment of EUR 900,000 and...[more]
GERMAN LAW FROM STRICK
[BIZ: Cleves, July 8]
This article presents some highlights of the last three months from Strick - May through July. In May, among the interesting issues that were raised was the fact that the sale of shares in a GmbH [private limited company] should be handled...[more]
FLEXPOINT SPONSORS V&L
[BIZ: Heerlen, July 8]
Flexpoint is a growing organization providing job search, flex workers and other Human Resource Management services to the market, concentrating on the Euroregion with offices in Heerlen, Geleen, Maastricht, Venlo, St. Truiden, Hasselt,...[more]
EUPEN CABLE REVENUES UP
[BIZ: Eupen, July 8]
After three years of loss, Eupen Cableworks, which employs 915 and is the largest private employer in East Belgium, is back in the black again and was able to record revenues for 2004 of EUR 215m, up 10% on the previous year. An extraordinary...[more]
EMISSION MONITORING
[BIZ/INFRA: Aachen, July 8]
As readers of this journal will recall, we have looked at the issue of emission trading in the context of the Alma project and in reporting on the activities of Trianel, Meuse-Rhine’s energy trading company. In essence, CO² emissions,...[more]
BELPEX INCOPORATED
[BIZ/INFRA: Brussels, July 8]
Belpex, the Belgian power exchange, was incorporated on July 7, with a share capital of EUR 3 million. Elia is the majority shareholder in Belpex (70%). Dutch energy exchange APX, French energy exchange Powernext and Dutch electricity...[more]
GRE TOP INSTALLED
[BIZ: Liège, July 8]
The management top for GRE, the economic redeployment group for the Liège basin, has been installed, introducing some business content into the organization. They are Philippe Bodson, a Liégeois who ran Tractebel, Jacques Germay, also with...[more]
KOHL GROUP GROWS
[BIZ: Aachen, July 7]
The Kohl Automobile Group in Aachen has taken over Autohaus Rehse and its 29 staff in Heinsberg. They will handle BMW and the Mini and also provide maintenance and distribution. Management is in the hands of Margit Kohl-Woitschik of Kohl...[more]
CHAOS IN 3D
[BIZ: Liège, July 7]
A new Liège University spin-off, which produces 3D imaging, is Deios, located at the science park in Sart Tilman. This is a unique project, which captures an object and recreates it in a 3-dimensional image on a digital file, whatever the...[more]
VGZ-IZA CALLCENTER HEERLEN
[BIZ/HEALTH: Heerlen, July 7]
Care insurer VGZ-IZA is setting up an additional call center in Heerlen. It needs a temporary, external and flexible call center. Current capacity of its customer teams is not able to handle current activity levels, which are difficult...[more]
1,100 JOBS VIA NEW PROGRAMS
[BIZ/GOV: Maastricht, July 7]
The Province of Limburg (NL), LIOF, the Limburg development company and the municipalities have an active acquisition policy and since 2003, they have produced EUR 2m of subsidy from the provincial “problem issue” fund ‘Knelpuntregeling’,...[more]
BRABANTIA EUR 10M FOR OVERPELT
[BIZ: Overpelt, July 7]
Brabantia, which makes all sorts of boxes and containers, is investing EUR 10m in its Overpelt location. This is to expand production capacity of its boxes for laundry, rubbish, storage, bread and even letters. There will also now be...[more]
INTER-NED NEWS
[BIZ: Düsseldorf, July 6]
The July edition of Inter-Ned news, which deals with North-Rhine Westphalia and the Netherlands, is out. It covers concern about competition from Eastern Europe in the small business sector; on online service for business premises,...[more]
EUR 2M NOVOVACS CMV VACCINE
[BIZ/LIFE-SCI: Maastricht, July 6]
NovoVacs BV, a joint venture established by MUbio Products BV and Rhein Biotech GmbH, has developed a new prophylactic vaccine against Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, in collaboration with the Netherlands’ Vaccine Institute....[more]
LIMBURG (NL) SECOND IN TOURISM
[BIZ/LEI: Maastricht, July 6]
The Province of Limburg, the tourist authorities and RECRON have charted the most important developments in tourism in 2004, noting 10% growth in the number of holidays spent in Limburg and 15% growth in the number of overnight...[more]
LRM PROFITS EUR 28M
[BIZ: Hasselt, July 5]
The Limburg Investment Company LRM has had a successful year. In 2004, its net earnings rose by 16.2% to EUR 28.479m. Of this sum, EUR 19.2m goes back to Limburg in the shape of money for tourist and strategic projects that the Flemish...[more]
NEW CFO Q-PARK GERMANY
[BIZ: Maastricht, July 4]
The Executive Board of Maastricht-based Q-Park N.V., one of the top five players within the European parking sector, has appointed Frank Beckmann (41) its new CFO for Q-Park Germany. Mr Beckmann is an experienced board member. He was...[more]
EQUITY FOR SMES
[BIZ: Aachen, July 4]
Aachen’s Private Equity Intelligent Venture Capital (IVC) has set up a fund for SMEs and is taking stakes in established businesses, primarily in the production sector in companies with annual revenues from EUR 10m to EUR 100m, with a good...[more]
DSM AND GILDE CLOSE SALE
[BIZ: Heerlen, July 2]
DSM and Dutch investment company Gilde Investment Management (Gilde) have announced that they have signed and closed the sale of DSM Bakery Ingredients to Gilde. On 13 April 2005, DSM and Gilde announced agreement in-principle for Gilde...[more]
KOREA DISCOVERS NRW
[BIZ: Aachen, July 2]
South Korea has discovered North-Rhine Westphalia as a location for inbound investment. Direct investments now are at EUR 250m. On the other hand, the NRW has also discovered Korea and has invested EUR 550m there, according to the NRW Development...[more]
FORMULA 1
[BIZ: Verviers, July 2]
The mayors of Verviers and Dison are asking the head of the socialist party, Elio Di Rupo, to provide financial guarantees for modification of the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit, to enable it to retain Formula 1 Grand Prix status. Construction...[more]
STAR’S MOROCCAN POWER
[BIZ: Liège, July 1]
Star Informatic has announced that, following a competitive tendering procedure, its STAR-ELEC application for electricity network management has been selected by the Office National de l’Electricité in Morocco (O.N.E.). This contract ...[more]
BIOREM
[BIZ: Liège, July 1]
The June issue of the Liège/Verviers Chamber of Commerce magazine contains an article on Biorem, by Patricia del Marmol. Biorem is a company specializing in bioremediation, or cleaning up polluted areas by using natural methods: plants that...[more]
EUR 4M FOR AVANTIS
[BIZ: Heerlen, July 1]
Dagblad de Limburger’s Marcel de Veen reports that the Avantis Science and Business Park is to be granted a loan of EUR 4m by the municipalities of Heerlen, Aachen, LIOF and its German sister organization Leg. Each partner will be contributing...[more]
LRM STAKES CLAVIS
[BIZ: Hasselt, July 1]
The Belgian Limburg Investment Company LRM has taken a EUR 500,000 stake in Clavis Media, which achieved revenues of EUR 5.5m last year; EUR 3m of this was abroad. The increase in capital will be invested in foreign growth, among other...[more]
ABX SOLD TO 3I
[BIZ/LOG: Brussels, July 1]
SNCB, Belgian Rail, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the sale of ABX Logistics to 3i, a British-based, private equity fund, incidentally also a stakeholder in DocMorris and other businesses in this region. Rumor has it...[more]
RECAPITALIZING AEROSPACE
[BIZ/GOV: Namur, July 1]
The Walloon region is going to use its Wespavia Holding company to form a new aerospace and defense cluster, which is to be recapitalized. The principal companies involved are Sonaca, FN and Techspace Aero. The object is to integrate...[more]
JET IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
[BIZ/LOG: Opglabbeek, July 1]
Janssen Expeditie & Transport (JET) from Opglabbeek is opening up a branch in Ostrava, the Czech Republic in H2 2005, according to Commercial Director Ben Maes. Initially, they will have an operational location without their own...[more]
VODAFONE/MSN MESSENGER
[BIZ: Maastricht, July 1]
Vodafone is to link with Microsoft’s MSN instant messaging service. This will bring about a 165 million-customer network....[more]
IHK TRAINING ATLAS
[BIZ/EDU: Aachen, July 1]
The new Atlas of trainee locations produced by the Aachen Chamber gives the addresses of 2,300 locations between Erkelenz and Euskirchen, with places for interns/trainees. It can be reached via the Chamber’s website....[more]
CHENE MADAME CHANGES HANDS
[BIZ/LEI: Neuville-en-Condroz, July 1]
Particia del Marmol relates that Le Chêne Madame, the well-known Michelin-starred restaurant outside Liège, is to be restyled by its new owner, Yves Weikmann. He took over, following the decease of the former owner Jean-Luc...[more]
Top| Logistics and Infrastructure |
MAA AID TO DARFUR
[LOG: Maastricht, July 14]
A World Food Progam aid flight leaves Maastricht-Aachen Airport July 15 for Darfur in the Sudan and Mombassa Kenya. A special permit has been granted by the Ministry of transport to deploy a Russian Ilyushin 76 for this purpose....[more]
IRON RHINE STARTS OCTOBER
[LOG: Utrecht/Brussels, July 9]
Dutch ProRail will be opening the first part of the Iron Rhine, the freight rail line from Belgium through to the Ruhr, on October 1. This part is the section of the track between Weert and the border town of Budel. Belgian cargo...[more]
EUR 1M FOR ST TROND STATION
[LOG: St Trond, July 8]
Belgian Rail SNCB has invested over EUR 1m in the upgrading of the station buildings at St Trond. The project has taken one year. The focus is on safety, service and comfort. The new building was officially opened on Friday in the presence...[more]
DEURGANCK DOCK ANTWERP
[LOG: Antwerp, July 7]
The Antwerp Deurganck dock has been officially opened and this doubles the port’s transshipment capacity for containers. As there is a lot of pressure on container transshipment, leading to waiting times, this is an important development....[more]
REMOTE-CONTROLLED RAILCARS
[LOG: Aachen, July 5]
In future, rail cargo could be remote-controlled rolling stock. Aachen University’s Department of Rail Vehicles and Materials-Handling Technology has developed two prototypes for this purpose. The rail cars have remote control and move...[more]
ROGISTER INVESTMENT UPDATE
[LOG: Eupen, July 1]
As a follow-up to the report on Welkenraedt-based Rogister Logistics’ planned investment in Issue 83 of March 2004, we summarize an article from ‘Grenz Echo’, covering a recent press conference with the company. The latest investment in...[more]
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CROSS-BORDER INFO EXCHANGE
[GOV: Maastricht, July 7]
Three new cross-border info projects are envisaged by the Province of Limburg (NL). The provincial government is providing EUR 180,000 for projects on planning and building in Meuse-Rhine and on the establishment of a Euroregional information...[more]
E-NATIONAL ASSISTANCE
[GOV: Maastricht, July 7]
The Province of Limburg (NL) wants to support municipalities in the central processing and payment of social security entitlement. On the basis of a study by Boer & Croon on innovation on social security, a new national shared service...[more]
A CHANGE IN THE LANDSCAPE
[GOV: Aldenhoven, July 6]
Euregionale 2008 has selected a project called ‘Indeland’, which will show the transformation of a lignite strip-mining site into a lake as big as the Tegernsee. Initially, the state is applying for EUR 19.5m and the community will...[more]
SMART LIMBURG (B)
[GOV: Hasselt, July 5]
According to a report in Het Belang van Limburg, the Province of Limburg wants to become a ‘smart region’. Interviewing e-government minister Peter Vanvelthoven, HBVL learnt that the focus would be on the automotive, logistics and tourist...[more]
EUR 671M LIMBURG PLAN
[GOV: Hasselt, July 4]
The new Belgian Limburg Plan is ready and will cost EUR 671m. The Flemish government has provided EUR 407m and the rest will have to come from alternative funding: bank loans, tolls, etc and from the Limburg Investment Company LRM. The...[more]
EUR 37M FOR A76 UPGRADE
[GOV/INFRA: Nuth, July 4]
Lobbying by Mayor Binderhagel and Councilor Pansters of Nuth has led to a government investment of EUR 37m in the current and future links to the A76 highway near Nuth. The future connection of the A2 to the German highway network near...[more]
TOP TECH LIMBURG 2012
[GOV: Maastricht, July 2]
On March 29 2005, the Province of Limburg (NL) assembled a Task Force that is to give Limburg’s economy a powerful extra boost towards innovation. The Task Force consists of representatives of local businesses, research and educational...[more]
NATO EXPANDS
[GOV: Brunssum, July 2]
The membership of new nations in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) means that additional office space is needed at Allied Joint Force Command Headquarters in Brunssum (JFC Brunssum). On June 23, two new wings of the headquarters’...[more]
AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN HASSELT
[GOV: Hasselt, July 1]
Hasselt’s city government has a new approach for new families and the less well-off, wanting to buy a house. It requires sellers to sell their houses at the price indicated when it was submitted to the project. The City of Hasselt will...[more]
EUPEN 2012+
[GOV: Eupen, July 1]
In its last session before the summer break, the Eupen City Council has accepted the draft City Development Plan ‘Eupen 2012+’. Mayor Elmar Keutgen pointed to a positive resonance among the population and called upon the various parties...[more]
5 PERMITS IN ONE
[GOV: Maastricht, July 1]
Five organizations, operating in the research, education and patient care sector - all in the Maastricht district of Randwyck - are going to apply jointly for the complex environmental permit required by the new Environmental Law and...[more]
MEUSE BORDER PROJECT
[GOV: Maastricht, July 1]
Governments, the business community and the authorities responsible for the protection of listed buildings have signed an agreement on the implementation of the Meuse Border [Grensmaas] Project. Now, with the establishment of the Provincial...[more]
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EUROGENTEC GETS RNAI™ PATENTS
[LIFE-SCI: Cambridge, Mass. and Seraing, July 12]
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi™ therapeutics company, has announced that it has granted Liège-based Eurogentec, a leading provider of genomics research solutions, a non-exclusive license to provide...[more]
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THERESE CORNIPS
[LEI: Heerlen, July 15]
The most recent issue of ABP Wereld (number 3 of 2005), a periodical that is generally occupied in the ins and outs of hedge funds, has a superb photograph of the Dutch translator of Proust, Thérèse Cornips, on page 15. It is worth acquiring...[more]
SAINT CECILIA’S DAY
[LEI: Eijsden, July 14]
Eijsden’s famous marching band, the Koninklijke Harmonie Sainte Cécile, is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. They are holding a ten-day-long party, running from July 15 through July 24. On Sunday, July 17, they will be marching...[more]
CARNIVAL FOR FRIEDRICH MERZ
[LEI: Aachen, July 12]
The Christian Democrat (CDU) member of the German Parliament, Mr Friedrich Merz (49), is to be the new and 56th knight, not of the 'doleful countenance'- he has his 500th anniversary this year, but of the famous Aachen Carnival Order ‘Wider...[more]
SACRED MUSIC
[LEI: Maastricht, July 11]
There is to be a festival of sacred music in Maastricht from Friday September 16 to Sunday September 18 under the heading of ‘Angels and Devils’. Highlights include a new composition by the young composer Calliope Tsoupaki, with its...[more]
WAGNER IN LIEGE
[LEI: Liège, July 8]
The first and second cycles of the Ring of the Nibelungen will be on at the Royal Walloon Opera in September and October. More information on this later, but keep an eye on the website....[more]
ARCHEO-ART
[LEI: Heerlen, July 8]
There is a contemporary archeological exhibition, called ‘Archeo-Art’ with its motto ‘The Limburg Archeological Manifestation 2005’. Within this context, from July 9 through September 12 there will be an exhibition of contemporary arts...[more]
THE LAND OF RODE
[LEI: Kerkrade, July 5]
The ‘Land van Rode’ has been around since Roman times and is best symbolized by the great 900-year old abbey of Rolduc in Kerkrade, the Burcht Rode in Herzogenrath and of course the remains of the mining industry that covered the area...[more]
VACATION NEWS
[LEI: St Vith, July 5]
East Belgium is sending out its tourist paper ‘The tourist journal’, advertising water sports from July 1 to September 15 in Bütgenbach Lake; a walking festival and a Gourmet tour is offered as well. The tourist department’s priorities...[more]
TOPMAGAZIN AACHEN
[MEDIA: Aachen, July 2]
The Aachen glossy magazine ‘Top Magazin Aachen’ presents a section on holidays in the Euroregion in its summer issue. Canoes, caves, cycling underground, balloons and climbing are all included, but other forms of locomotion are also on...[more]
THE WASHING MUSEUM AT SPA
[LEI: Spa, July 1]
The curious and unique Washing Museum in Spa will be opened in July and August every day from 14:00 to 18:00 hrs and in addition to its Poland exhibition, there will also be one of ‘Old toys’, ‘Baby linen’ and one of ‘The child as used in...[more]
LANDSCAPE WITH CASTLES
[LEI: Hasselt, July 1]
A brochure covering the Châteaux of the Hesbaye country has been produced by the Belgian Limburg tourist department. This is a 65-page A5 format, called ‘Haspengouw een landschap van kastelen’ by Pierre Diriken. It is available at tourist...[more]
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