Located in the northern Belgium, Flanders is centrally located in Europe, with easy access to the Netherlands, France, Germany and Luxembourg. "Because of our central location, a lot of companies have set up distribution centers as a hub for their expansion into the European Union," says Reinards, director of investment at Flanders Investment and Trade.
About the size of Maryland, Flanders still has room to expand its distribution infrastructure, Reinards says. "We are not looking for big manufacturing plants, but we are not built out yet in terms of logistics activities," he says. "And, of course, there are opportunities to partner up with 3PLs or existing warehouses."
Flanders is close to the Port of Antwerp and within easy reach of Rotterdam, as well as the roll-on, roll-off port of Zeebrugge and the smaller ports of Ghent and Ostend, he says. While Flanders's central location is its biggest advantage, the region also is known for its skilled workforce and excellent infrastructure, Reinards says.
Nike is just one example of the type of global company that has established a distribution center in Flanders for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). "Nike built a lean and green building and it created a very automated system to handle its distribution," says Reinards.
