To Discover

Located as it is on France’s border with Germany, Northern Alsace is European through and through, and shaped by long-standing cooperation between Baden and the Palatinate, embodied today by the European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation, Eurodistrict PAMINA, headquartered in Lauterbourg.

Because it lies at such a key intersection for Europe, the range of transport infrastructure it harbours is truly second-to-none: an extensive motorway, a high-speed rail link that gets to Paris in under two hours, and let us not forget the Rhine, one of the busiest waterways in the world serving Lauterbourg Terminal, which is part of the Port Autonome de Strasbourg, the second largest river port in France with high-quality logistical services on offer.

Driving the region’s thriving economic scene are such European and international industrial heavyweights as Alstom, Dow, Siemens, Trumpf, INA-Schaeffler, Sew Usocom, Hager, De Dietrich, Mars, Kuhn and Les grands Chaix, alongside an equally innovative community of SMEs (Norcan, Les Ateliers Réunis Caddie, ACEA-EMS and Sewosy among them). They are supported by the organisation of the RESILIAN network (of Innovative Manufacturers from Northern Alsace – www.resilian.fr), whose business members are seeking to pool best practices and collective intelligence to enhance competitiveness, and guidance for businesses, provided by the Alsace Development Agency ADIRA (www.adira.com) and ADEC (www.adec.fr).

This close-knit setup has all the keys for successful growth.

• Space, with more than 200 ha of land available for businesses, including those on the look-out for larger plots (over 40 ha.), not least in the portside and logistics business district of Lauterbourg with its container ship and the Herrlisheim-Drusenheim, Brumath and Thal-Drulingen business platforms.
• Natural and technological resources where energy is concerned, with deep geothermal water at more than 160°C, particularly harnessed by Electricité de Strasbourg in the canton of Wissembourg, and containing a lithium chloride content capable of supporting the electric mobility sector and restoring an energy generation role to this pioneering region for oil exploration.
• Innovative stakeholders with their sights set on the future, including companies working on industries of the future, and Eurodistrict PAMINA, which fosters ground-breaking cross-border initiatives, especially concerning mobility and health services.
• A highly skilled workforce with motivated, bilingual citizens, supported by the wide range of higher education courses available in the region – taught particularly at Haguenau University Institute of Technology, which is an integral part of Strasbourg University, the largest multidisciplinary university in France.

Last but not least, Northern Alsace fully embraces the unique Alsatian way of life!

Residents in this region enjoy an enviable standard of living, blending rural scenery, traditions and high-quality services.

Here, you’ll find stunning nature spots perfect for outings, including the Vosges du Nord Regional Natural Park, the UNESCO-listed cross-border Biosphere Reserve with the Palatinate Forest and Forêt d’exception-certified Haguenau Forest.

Look no further than the myriad picturesque villages, artisanal pottery-making in Betschdorf and Soufflenheim or Cleebourg wines to appreciate the wealth of history, culinary delights and traditions that this region has to offer.

Rounding off this engaging lifestyle is a range of local community services, with INFOBEST PAMINA providing assistance with cross-border procedures, and high-quality facilities and amenities including an extensive network of cycle paths. Not only that, but there is also a wide choice of leisure activities, the Morsbronn-Les-Bains and Niederbronn-Les-Bains spas among them.

A proud ambassador of the Collectivité européenne d’Alsace, Northern Alsace is a thriving region with a bright future and countless opportunities in store.