Aware of the strategic interest of the Rubber and Polymers industry, the Val d'Oise is home to many stakeholders in this sector. The reputation and synergies established by these national champions, multinationals and dynamic SMEs are encouraging other companies working in the industry to locate in the département.

RUBBER AND POLYMER PROCESSING
 France is the second-largest producer of tyres and rubber technical parts in Europe after Germany and ahead of Spain and Italy. The Val d'Oise is particularly involved in the progress of this industry. The work of major prime contractors and subcontractor SMEs located in the département covers several areas of the Rubber and Polymers industry such as processing, which includes tyres and industrial rubber, as well as finished products for companies (pipes, gaskets, belts, etc.) and individual consumers (gloves, boots, teats, etc.). This environment extends to suppliers, producers of raw materials, manufacturers of moulds and companies positioned on the waste recycling market.

Well-known companies located in the Val d'Oise include Hutchinson in Persan, Le Joint Français (a subsidiary of the Hutchinson group) in Bezons and 3M France in Cergy. The presence in the département of Axson, Electra Unic Industrie, Lisi Automotive Rapid, Cooper Standard Automotive France, Griffine is also noteworthy. All of these companies located in the Val d'Oise are involved in marketing and production activities, as well as R&D and the manufacture of innovative products.
The University of Cergy Pontoise is also part of this dynamic, offering a large number of courses relating to the industry, as are engineering schools such as the EBI(Higher Institute of Industrial Biology). They also act as genuine partners for the companies working in this sector in the Val d'Oise, focusing on targeting new markets and developing new products.

«Our customers have transferred their technological development to us. They submit their problem to us and we find the solution. That's how our business works today».
François Souchet, Managing Director of the Hutchinson "Sealants, adhesives and profiles" Division.

 (continued from page 1)
This R&D is strengthened by the presence of the Elastopôle competitiveness cluster, which extends throughout the entire Val d'Oise département and whose aim is to create momentum for the industry by setting up

a platform for sharing knowledge and resources.
On the strength of this economic focus, the CEEVO (Val d'Oise Economic Development Board) has conducted a study aimed at assessing the current situation and

development prospects for the Rubber and Polymers industry in the département in order to provide with the best possible support and structure.

The Val d'Oise Economic Development Board (CEEVO) ensures the promotion of a number of industries of strategic excellence for the Val d'Oise.
It provides assistance for networks of effective companies involved in these sectors of business, most of which form part of the competitiveness cluster dynamic

Some well-known companies locate d in the Val d'Oise

- 3M France - ABRASIVE PRODUCTS, Cergy
- CHEVALIER Caoutchouc - RUBBER PROCESSING, Argenteuil
- CLERET Caoutchouc - TECHNICAL PARTS, Argenteuil
- COOPER STANDARD STANDARD - AUTOMOTIVE EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER, Argenteuil
- HUTCHINSON - RUBBER PARTS, Persan
- LE JOINT FRANÇAIS - VEHICLE INSULATION AND GLAZING, COATINGS AND ENCAPSULANTS FOR AERONAUTICS, Bezons
- LE CAOUTCHOUC d'ARGENTEUIL - RUBBER PARTS, Argenteuil
- SEMPERTRANS France - RUBBER CONVEYOR BELTS, Argenteuil
- SILCOMP - WHOLESALE, Argenteuil
- TERCAP - RUBBER PROCESSING, Seraincourt
- RACLOT INDUSTRIES - Brignancourt
- VELO X - WHOLESALE, Argenteuil
- ELECTRA UNIC INDUSTRIE - RUBBER PARTS, Pontoise
- SAUER France - PRINTING ROLLERS, Goussainville

THE VAL D'OISE MEASUREMENT NETWORK (RMVO)
 The main objective of the RMVO, recognised by the DIACT (Regional Planning and Competitiveness Office) as a Local Productivity Environment, is the development of businesses working in all areas of the measurement and instrumentation sector in the Val d'Oise. The actions undertaken by this network have the following aims:
conducting strategic watch, which benefits all the companies in the sector involved in the manufacture of measuring instruments and scientific and technical control instruments;
organising collective action, in particular for metrology, with representation at trade shows in France and abroad; for instance, presence at the «Mesure expo» Exhibition every year in Paris;
establishing collaborative links with higher education, in particular the University of Cergy-Pontoise, which already has courses relating to expertise in instrumentation and measurement (vocational Bachelor's degree);
coordinating access to a website toraise the profile of member companies and promote the network.

www.rmvo.com

ANNUAL MEETING OF RESEARCHERS AND BUSINESSES
 As part of the efforts to bring together higher education establishments and SMEs in the département, undertaken by the CESE 95, (Val d'Oise Higher Education and Business Forum), each year the CEEVO is heavily involved in the Val d'Oise Research and Innovation Week. This week includes a large number of events in the Val d'Oise over five days in April and May: lectures, factory, company and research laboratory visits, business meetings and so on. This event is free of charge and open to all, providing an opportunity to get to know certain companies and laboratories in the area, such as those working in the rubber and polymers industry, as well as certain projects from the 9 competitiveness clusters in which the Val d'Oise is involved, such as the Elastopôle cluster.

www.sri-valdoise.fr

Research and higher education: Training Centres
Cergy-Pontoise University («science and techniques faculty»):

- Biology department: vocational Bachelor's degree in biotechnology (specialising in production and diagnosis); Masters in biochemistry of materials; Masters in structured matter and living systems.

- Chemistry department: vocational Bachelor's degree in industrial formulation; Masters in fine chemistry, polymers and analysis; Masters in control and quality; Masters in advanced techniques and materials science; PhD in chemistry; PhD in fluid mechanics.

EBI (Higher Institute of Industrial Biology): engineering diploma in industrial biology and Master of Business Engineering in Quality Assurance and Process Validation.

ATOMER offers ongoing vocational training in chemistry and polymers.
Mail :This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">
Tél: +33(0)1 39 84 15 87
ATOMER - 13 rue de la Coque - 95410 Groslay - France

Research laboratories working in Rubber and Polymers in the Val d'Oise
The University of Cergy- Pontoise has 4 Rubber and Polymers laboratories in the Val d'Oise:

- LPPI (Physical chemistry of Polymers and Interfaces Laboratory), which specialises in developing materials from conducting polymers and insulators.
- LPMS (Materials and Surface Physics Laboratory).
- ERRMECe (Extra- Cellular/Cellular Matrix Relationships Research Laboratory).
- SOSCO (Selective Organic Synthesis and Organometallic Chemistry laboratory). This research unit, set up by the University of Cergy- Pontoise, the ESCOM and the CNRS, has three teams of researchers specialising in applied organometallic chemistry for organic synthesis.

ELASTOPOLE and DEFI PME CAOUTCHOUC 
Challenge for SMEs in the rubber industry
Since January 2009, the professional organisations in the rubber industry have decided to step up their efforts in response to the call for projects entitled «Human capital - gaining skills for increased competitiveness» launched by the Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Employment.
The project is being conducted by Elastopôle, in partnership with UCAPLAST (Joint professional union of Rubber and plastics SMEs) and the SNCP (National Rubber and Polymers Union).
Its purpose is to assist SMEs nationwide, more especially those in the Val d'Oise, in order to anticipate changes to their business, invest in human capital, help them with their situation as regards retirements and recruitment and thus develop their competitiveness using employment and skills diagnoses.

Operation partners:

Elastopôle : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.elastopole.fr

SNCP : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.lecaoutchouc.com

UCAPLAST : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.ucaplast.fr

 The Val d'Oise is home to nine competitiveness clusters including Elastopôle, recognised on July 5, 2007 by the Interminsterial Board of Regional Planning and Competitiveness. Elastopôle brings together companies, laboratories and training bodies in the Rubber and Polymers industry in the Val d'Oise. Its aim is to encourage business and employment by creating momentum for technological innovation and stimulating positive synergies between industry stakeholders.

THE ELASTOPOLE COMPETITIVENESS CLUSTER

Elastopôle already has 70 members, including world-leading multinationals working in the field of tyres and industrial rubber, a network of SMEs with recognised industrial knowledge and public and private-sector laboratories (over 3,500 researchers) located in the Val d'Oise as well as in the Centre, Auvergne, Pays de Loire and Île-de-France regions. This competitiveness cluster relies on a large number of stakeholders in the Paris region, including the French Rubber and Polymers Centre which brings together the National Rubber and Polymers Union, the Rubber and Plastics Research and Control Laboratory (LRCCP), the Rubber Training Institute (IFOCA) and the University of Cergy-Pontoise.
Its aim is to broaden companies' product and service offerings by strengthening their competitive advantages thanks to new R&D and industrialisation techniques. To fulfil this mission, the cluster's research projects are structured around three major areas which the stakeholders located in the Val d'Oise identify with: business lines (materials, design, manufacturing processes and innovative products), energy and the environment, economics and social concerns. The effectiveness of the cluster focuses on the implementation of synergies between Industry, Research and Training – something which is already wellestablished in the Val d'Oise – with the aim of Elastopôle being recognised as a model of international competitiveness.

«The Val d'Oise is the most representative département in the Greater Paris area for rubber processing»
Bruno Marostegan, cluster director.

HUTCHINSON: A WORLD LEADER WITH TWO LOCATIONS IN THE DEPARTEMENT

The Hutchinson group is the world leader in industrial rubber, with sales of €3.1bn in 2008 and a total workforce of 27,500 on 118 sites in 26 countries. It is active on all the key markets in the Automotive business, the Aerospace Industry and for consumer goods. Hutchinson's operations in France date back to 1853 and the creation of the Aigle brand, which used to manufacture rubber boots in Montargis. Hutchinson is now part of Total's Chemicals division. In the Val d'Oise, the group is represented by a Hutchinson subsidiary in Persan and Le Joint Français in Bezons. Le Joint Français, a subsidiary of the group which was bought out in 1987, specialises in the manufacture of O-ring seals. It has a workforce of 500 in Bezons and a turnover of €130m. The «Sealants, adhesives and profiles» division does business in three highly technological product families and manufactures specific products for each:
the aeronautics industry: new sealants that reinforce the air-tightness of aircraft parts used on all civil aviation models by Airbus, Boeing, Dassault, Embraer, EADS, etc. as well as in military aviation, and soundproofing products for cabins,

the automotive industry: sealants for fixing windscreens and structural reinforcement,
the construction industry: sealants for double glazing and fire insulation in buildings.
"The development of this type of product is becoming increasingly cutting-edge", comments François Souchet, Managing Director of the "Sealants, adhesives and profiles" division and director of the four Le Joint Français factories (three in France and one in Shanghai), "we have to develop new products and applications corresponding to the ever-increasing needs of our customers".

CHEVALIER AND CLERET:
PRESENT IN THE VAL D'OISE FOR OVER 90 YEARS

The historic Val d'Oise SME, Chevalier, was founded in 1925, manufacturing orthopedic belts which were shipped all over the world. Many years later, in 2001, Jean-Marc Oudot and his partners took over Chevalier, still with excellent performance in silicone injection moulding for small, detailed and often very sophisticated technical parts for airtightness and suspension (miniaturisation). Just prior to this, Chevalier had taken over Cléret, which manufactures small dual-material technical parts made from rubber and metal. The companies target the automotive and industrial markets.
With a workforce of 65 in Argenteuil in the Val d'Oise and a subsidiary employing 14 people in Romania, Chevalier and Cléret, which have a combined annual sales volume of some €8 million, are aiming to consolidate their positions and develop a strategy directed towards new markets for moulding technology in the medical, pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics sectors.
Having been located in the Val d'Oise for 90 years, today Chevalier and Cléret appreciate the département's road links to Roissy airport and the la Défense business district, as well as the wealth of resources its networks represent. Both SMEs have a 

sustainable development policy, which includes using ready-to-use, processed silicones - minimising waste and hazardous handling in this sector in which «clean» manufacturing is a must.

www.chevalier-cleret.com

The Software and complex systems industry affects areas including design, production and control of measurement systems and instruments for telecommunications, automotive, security and defence applications.

 Many industrial groups, including hallmark members of the System@tic Paris Région cluster such as Sagem Groupe SAFRAN, a world leader in biometric sensors, and Thalès, the electronics giant, conduct their business in these fields in the Val d'Oise. They are surrounded by a dense fabric of SMEs specialising in microelectronics.

SECURITY ASSETS
 The Val d'Oise has major assets in terms of safety and security in the form of the many applications within this industry. Eight of the leading security operators are subsidiaries of international groups

working in the Val d'Oise, for example the Swedish company Securitas, the American company, Brinks contrôle sécurité, Chubb Sécurité, Silliker, Tyco Electronics and Autoliv Electronics.
Security and risk management have been a constantly growing market for several years now (+30 % per year for the IT security sector alone). The volume of business has increased since the 9/11 attacks, which sounded the alarm for many companies which are now seeking better protection for their staff, sites and IT systems.
There are also many technological innovations in this field of security, as seen with Trust Platform (PFC) projects1, SIC2 and Mobi SIC3 conducted by Sagem Défense Sécurité within the System@tic Paris Région cluster with their partners, including Thalès (cf. page 4). These include the new challenge undertaken by Sagem Groupe SAFRAN: the use of multibiometrics (facial recognition, fingerprints and iris scans) 

The health and biotechnology industry is one of the highlights of economic activity in the Île-de-France region. Several large organisations in the Val d'Oise play their part in this dynamic.

 The large number of research laboratories, a large hospital network, AP-HP (Public Assistance - Hospitals of Paris), and some one thousand specialised industrial companies all encourage the development of research and implementation of biotechnologies and medical devices throughout the region.
In the Val d'Oise alone, there are around one hundred companies working in the health and pharmaceutical science industries, including 3M Santé, Hyphen Biomed, Invitrogen, Pall Biosepra and Catalent. The Val d'Oise also has a large number of both public and private training centres, higher education institutions and research laboratories. Ever since the launch of competitiveness clusters by the French government, the Val d'Oise Economic Expansion Committee (CEEVO) has played

a major role in the work piloted by the regional development agency which has led to the Greater Paris project 'Medicen Paris Région' being granted status as a cluster. This cluster is one of the six international clusters recognised in France – a distinct opportunity for key players and companies in the Val d'Oise working in the health industry, bringing them together in projects whose key requirements include: strong industrial R&D academic research with international influence key public / private subsidiarity affirmation of local and regional political willpower demonstrated by core projects.
Lastly, one of the characteristics of the network of companies in the Val d'Oise in the health sector is the large number of well-known names, including 3M Santé, Pasteur Cerba Laboratoire, Pall Biosepra and many more.

The CEEVO promotes a number of strategic sectors of excellence in the Val d'Oise, working in partnership with networks of high-performance companies involved in these areas of business, most of which participate in the competitiveness cluster initiative.

INVITROGEN - Biotechnologies
3M Santé ACE - Biological analyses
AREA TIME - Medical transport logistics
BAYER DIAGNOSTICS - Medical instruments
CATALENT PHARMA SOLUTIONS - Drugs and active ingredients
CERBA PASTEUR LABORATOIRE - Biological analyses
DIAGNOSTICA STAGO - Medical instruments
GILSON - Medical instruments
HARISSON CLINICAL RESEARCH - Clinical analyses HYPHEN BIOMED - Biology applied to medicine INVITROGEN - Molecular biology
MDS PHARMA - Biological analyses
PALL BIOSEPRA - Drugs and active ingredients
SAFECOS - Control and sanitary watch
SILLIKER - Control and sanitary watch

VAL D'OISE INSTRUMENTS AND MEASUREMENT NETWORK (RMVO)
 The main goal of the RMVO, recognised as a Local Productive System by the DIACT (Delegation for the Development and Competitiveness of the Département), is the development of companies located in the département working in the measurement and instruments sector in any field. The work undertaken by this network is carried out with the aim of:

- strategic watch, assisting all companies involved in the manufacture of scientific and technical measurement and control instruments;

- collaborative work, in particular in the field of metrology, for representation at professional shows in France and abroad; for example at the « Mesure Expo » exhibition each year in Paris;

-working with higher education, in particular the University of Cergy-Pontoise, which already has courses training students for professions relating to instrumentation and measurement (professional degree);
access to a website to raise the profile of member companies and promote the network.
www.rmvo.com

BRINGING TOGETHER RESEARCHERS AND COMPANIES ONCE A YEAR
 As part of the efforts by the CESE 95 (Val d'Oise Further Education / Company Forum) to bring further education institutions and SMEs and SMIs closer together in the département, the CEEVO is heavily involved each year in the Val d'Oise Research and Innovation Week. A wide variety of events are on offer locally during the course of the week: lectures, visits to factories, companies and research laboratories, business meetings, and so on.
Free of charge and open to all, this event is an opportunity to get to know some of the companies and laboratories in the health industry as well as the projects which are part of the Medicen competitiveness cluster.

THE EBI – A BENCHMARK SCHOOL FOR COSMETOLOGY AND PHARMACY
The Higher School of Industrial Biology is a private technical institute of higher education, recognised by the State. It awards engineering diplomas recognised by the engineering accreditation commission. Courses lasts for 5-years post-Baccalaureate including the preparatory course is included. Challenges magazine ranks the school in the 30 leading engineering schools in France in terms of successful employment of graduates, links with industry and international standing.

In ten years, the EBI has become the benchmark engineering school for cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. It trains 600 students each year, 125 graduating at BAC + 5 level, including 100 engineers. For several years, the EBI has been taking part in the business conventions organised with Kumamoto and is now open to technological contacts in Osaka -Japanese companies in the biology and cosmetics sector are particularly interested in their know-how and skills. In addition, there are many relationships with the University ofSojo Microbiology department around shared fields of research, with exchanges betweenteaching research staff and students.

Research and further education:

- Higher School of Industrial Biology (EBI) in the Institut Polytechnique Saint-Louis: engineering diploma, courses for assistant engineers and Engineering Masters of Business

- University of Cergy-Pontoise (« Science and techniques » faculty): Master of Science in « Biological, informative and recombination macromolecule Technologies »

Public laboratories:

- ERRMECE: Extra-Cellular / Cell Matrix Relationships Research Laboratory

- SOSCO-UCP / ESCOM / CNRS: Selective Organic Synthesis and Organometallic Chemistry laboratory

- LPPI: Physical chemistry of Polymers and Interfaces Laboratory

- GRP2H: INSERM 680 branch working on Hereditary Liver Physiopathology: molecular biology, DNA sequencing, cloning.

Private laboratories:

- CATALENT, PALL BIOSEPRA: design and manufacture of drugs and active ingredients

- PASTEUR CERBA LABORATOIRE, MDS PHARMA, ACE: biological analysis
HYPHEN BIOMED: Biotechnology applied to medicine

- DIAGNOSTICA STAGO, GILSON, BAYER DIAGNOSTICS: medical instruments
SILLIKER, SAFECOS: control and sanitary watch

- AREA TIME LOGISTICS: transportation of biological products

The University of Cergy-Pontoise has several research teams concentrating on health, in particular the ERRMECE, GRP2H and SOSCO laboratories. The University's research department has highly specialised laboratories (50 - 60 researchers).
Private health research in the Val d'Oise involves over 120 researchers, working in areas such as the design and manufacture of drugs and active ingredients, the development of watch resources for specialised biology, as well as scientific and technical instruments and control.

In order to consolidate its position in the increasingly competitive world economy, France has formed regional competitiveness clusters with a worldwide or national vocation. The aim is to bring together companies, research centres and training bodies to pool skills. They follow the industrial policy already developed in neighbouring Germany and Italy. Each cluster based in the Val d'Oise opens up the département to the world economy.

 Aeronautics, health, information and communication technologies, transport, energy, finance, and more. The list of the 71 projected clusters, drawn up by the CIADT (Interministerial Regional Planning and Development Committee) covers all the major sectors of business throughout France. With the financial backing of the State, the listed clusters also benefit from tax breaks and reduced social contributions. In addition, local authorities may offer exemption from local taxes.

6 COMPETITIVENESS CLUSTERS IN THE VAL D'OISE
 Six of the existing or aspiring world-class competitiveness clusters directly involve companies located in the Val d'Oise: ASTech Paris Région, Cap Digital Paris Région, Finance Innovation, Medicen Paris Région, Mov'eo and System@tic Paris Région.

Receiving the «Competitiveness Cluster» label has an immediate knock-on effect for the «département», enhancing both its brand image and the reputation of its companies, universities and research institutions.

Medicen Paris Région (an international competitiveness cluster) brings together the major players in life and health sciences in the Île-de-France region.

 Medicen Paris Région is dedicated to high technology in the field of health: new drugs, gene, molecular and cell therapy. This cluster is structuring its work around the implementation of a skills network with key players from the health and drug science industries. Its aim is to establish the Île-de-France region as the leader for therapeutic innovations in the industry in Europe by 2010. Located at the heart of the leading economic region in Europe, it has the highest concentration of businesses in the health field in Europe and has all the advantages of a world-class metropolis like Paris in terms of financial, real estate and transport infrastructure. At the heart of the Val d'Oise,

the urban district of Cergy-Pontoise is identified as the cluster's prime R&D area.

THE MEDICEN PARIS RÉGION CLUSTER'S PROJECTS
 The Medicen Paris Région aims to become the leading European industrial cluster in the field of therapeutic innovation. The Medicen Paris Région cluster is developing six areas of excellence, of which three fall into the therapeutics category - Neuroscience, Oncology and Infectious Diseases - and three into the technological category: Molecular and cellular medicine, Medical imaging and Drug science and techniques.

CATALENT PHARMA SOLUTIONS STRENGTHENING ITS PRESENCE IN THE VAL D'OISE
 Catalent Pharma Solutions has an R&D centre and a facility at the heart of Cergy-Pontoise. This company came into being here following the sale of assets by the Cardinal Health group. In July 2007, Cardinal Health sold its drug manufacturing business to the Catalent group. The Cergy-Pontoise facility (formerly a division of Cardinal Health Pharmaceutical Technologies and Services) is now called Catalent Pharma Solutions.
Cardinal Health, a major American company for medical services, is involved in pharmaceutical distribution, hospital supplies and the development and production of pharmaceutical specialities. Cardinal Health employs over 55 000 people on 6 continents. The group has 30 factories. One of these is the facility in Cergy-Pontoise, which has been in the Val d'Oise for 30 years. Cardinal Health had a unit there for the development of pharmaceutical products and a production plant (180 employees) which designs and produces a portfolio of pharmaceutical specialities on behalf of third-party customers (including leading American, Japanese and European laboratories). Among the products developed and manufactured in Cergy-Pontoise, mainly hormone therapy tablets, is the famous « morning-after pill » Norlevo for Laboratoires HRA. This pill, millions of which are sold each year, requires very specific manufacture and quality control, given its particular prescription: just one dose! Fully satisfied with the advantages of the Val d'Oise (particularly transport and the skills pool), Cardinal Health has just invested 12m € to develop a new production unit specialising in 'spray drying', a specific technology for the preparation of hormones.

www.catalent.com

AREA TIME LOGISTICS: EXPERTS IN THE TRANSPORT OF BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES
 Set up in 1994 in response to considerable demand in the pharmaceutical industry, Area Time Logistics specialises in the transportation of medical samples at controlled temperatures. Located in Cergy-Pontoise, Area Time Logistics' head office is the hub of the company's business.
Active in France and in French overseas departments and territories, with a network of 100 drivers working directly for the company and 100 trained subcontracting transport providers, Area Time Logistics has 40 branches throughout France, the largest of which is in the Val d'Oise. They are also represented in over 50 countries through local agents who have been trained in the group's methods. In a demographical situation marked by an ageing population, developed countries will have to manage a greater diversity of medical treatments. This will entail a change in the number of preventive and remedial diagnoses. There will be more human samples and issues of cost will mean these are sent to centres of excellence for analysis.
Area Time Logistics' business calls for a complex level of technical know-how to ensure the integrity of samples. It is a world-class innovating company and a partner in collaborative projects for medical research, enabling progress in logistics for prime manufacturers in the pharmaceutical industry. A member of 'Medicen Paris Région', the Paris region competitiveness cluster, Area Time Logistics will contribute its expertise in logistics solutions to ongoing changes in the sector, including training for members of the competitiveness cluster and across-the-board assistance for clinical research projects.

www.areatime.com

The département of the Val d'Oise is involved in six national or world-class competitiveness clusters in the fieldsof health, digital technology, complexsystems and software, the automotive industry, aeronautics and finance. It offers the dynamism of a high-performance economic basin and quality living in a region with an outstanding natural environment. The département is located on the outskirts of Paris and is the site of Roissy Charles-de- Gaulle international airport.

At the heart of the Ile-de-France, the leading region in the country, the Val d'Oise is a competitive département just a few kilometres away from Paris. With a population of 1.2 million, it offers two very different aspects:

• the southern edge of the département is built-up, from Cergy-Pontoise and the Argenteuil-Bezons area right across to the towns in its south-eastern corner near Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport,

• at the same time, there are also two regional natural parks and vast rural areas of farmland: multiple cropping and stock rearing in the French Vexin and large-scale added-value farming in the Plaine de France.
  The Val d'Oise is a young region, with one third of the inhabitants aged under 20. 

ECONOMIC CENTRES OF ACTIVITY WITH A GLOBAL OUTLOOK 

 Located to the north and north-east of the outskirts of Paris, the Val d'Oise is in a prime location both as the natural extension of greater Paris, and the gateway to Northern Europe (Great Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands) and Eastern Europe.
Its international nature is underlined by the presence of Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle International airport (the largest airport in continental Europe). The airport has an integrated TGV high-speed rail station providing quick connections for air and rail passengers to all the major cities in France, Europe and worldwide.

«The Val d'Oise - making life easier for entrepreneurs every day.»

A NETWORK OF HIGHLY COMPLEMENTARY COMPANIES

 The economic fabric of the Val d'Oise is made up mostly of small businesses and industries, but the département is also home to a number of large firms which are playing a vital role in its economic growth. The Val d'Oise is already home to corporate headquarters and manufacturers who are well-known both nationally and worldwide. Many are located in the urban district of Cergy-Pontoise, the technological basin of Argenteuil-Bezons and the area close to Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport: 3M, SPIE, BP, JONHSON, DASSAULT, SAGEM Groupe SAFRAN, PEUGEOT, THALES, THOMSON, FUJITSU-SIEMENS, KUBOTA, SONY ERICSSON, OPEL, YAMAHA, EADS, NIELSEN, BROTHER, HUAWEI, DELPHI, PIONEER, and more.

The SMEs are concentrated on technology-related areas of business: mechanical and industrial equipment manufacturing, digital technology, electronics, high added-value medical equipment and so on.

INVOLVED IN 6 INTERNATIONAL AND WORLD-CLASS COMPETITIVENESS CLUSTERS

 Six « competitiveness clusters » recognised by the French government are located in the Val d'Oise: System@Tic Paris Région, working in the fields of Complex Software and Systems; Medicen Paris Région for Health and Biotechnology; Cap Digital Paris Région: Images, Multimedia and Digital Technology; Mov'eo: Road Safety and Sustainable Mobility; ASTech Paris Région, devoted to Aeronautics and the Space industry, and Finance Innovation, serving the Finance Industry.
The networks of excellence in the Val d'Oise are also backed up by networks of companies covering the département, working in several specific areas of skill: the Mechanics Committee, Measurement network (RMVO), Ecological Industry Network , Val d'Oise - Yvelines Automotive Network (RAVY), Aerospace Network (Val d'Oise SAT), and others.
 

120 BUSINESS PARKS IN 2 MAJOR EMPLOYMENT BASINS:
CERGY-PONTOISE AND THE ROISSY CHARLES-DE-GAULLE AIRPORT CLUSTER 

 DIn the Val d'Oise, some 3 000 hectares are now set aside to accommodate 120 business parks. In the past twenty years, the département has gained 100 000 new employees. This is one of the best rates of growth in France.
The département is divided into six geographical areas on which the Val d'Oise Conseil Général bases its strategies. They each have different economic challenges:

- The French Vexin,
- The Pays de France,
- The Montmorency Valley,
- The Cergy-Pontoise urban district,
- The Plaine de France (encompassing the Roissy-CDG airport area),
- The Rives de Seine (around the Argenteuil-Bezons cluster).

CERGY-PONTOISE, A MAJOR URBAN DISTRICT WITH LINKS TO THE ECONOMIC CENTRES OF PARIS, LA DÉFENSE AND ROISSY CHARLES-DE-GAULLE.

 Built from 1969 onwards on a surface area similar to that of Paris, Cergy-Pontoise is the préfecture of the Val d'Oise, a city with a population of 200 000 and all the facilities necessary for the well-being of those who live and work there.
Cergy-Pontoise has an efficient transport network:

- SNCF rail links to two Paris stations: the Gare du Nord and the Gare Saint-Lazare, and lines A and C on the RER (Réseau Express Régional), bringing the journey time to the heart of Paris to just 35 minutes.

- La Défense is 20 minutes away by car, via the A15 and A86 motorways.

- Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport is half an hour away via the Francilienne ring road.

- the « Bus Express » route links Cergy-Pontoise to Charles-de-Gaulle airport and the TGV station.

- goods may be transported on the river Oise, from the river ports.

- there is a business airport just a few minutes from the city centre.

In terms of higher education, there are 18 000 students at the University of Cergy-Pontoise, and over 13 000 students at the business and engineering graduate schools (ESSEC1, ENSEA2, EISTI3, EPMI4, ITIN5, Institut Polytechnique Saint-Louis, etc.) Cergy-Pontoise, with the second-largest concentration of higher education in the Ile-de-France region after Paris, has both academic and industrial potential (with over 4 000 companies) and thus acts as an economic driving force for the whole département.

1 ESSEC: Graduate School of Economics and Business
2 ENSEA: Graduate School for Electronics and Applications
3 EISTI: International School of Data Processing Sciences
4 EPMI : School of Electricity, Production and Industrial Methods
5 ITIN: Graduate School of Computer science, networks and telecommunications

FOUR OTHER COMPLEMENTARY CLUSTERS IN THE VAL D'OISE

 THE "RIVES DE SEINE", area on the banks of the Seine to the south, close to Paris-La Défense, is ideally located to accommodate technological and service companies. The industrial cluster at Argenteuil and Bezons, which has a university campus, specialises in aeronautics, metalworking and high-tech industry, along with fine chemicals and plastics. The new tram line from La Défense and western Paris adds to the area's appeal.

 THE "PAYS DE FRANCE", to the north-west, is an area where private homes are the predominant form of development. Local stakeholders are fostering job creation by establishing and upgrading business parks for small and medium-sized businesses and industries, including those at Persan and Beaumont-sur-Oise. The creation of a multimodal cluster (waterway / rail / road) in the Bruyères-sur-Oise business park forms part of this development.

 THE MONTMORENCY VALLEY is above all a select residential area. However the human-sized business parks in the combined urban areas of « Val et Forêt » and « Montmorency Valley », and those of the other towns in the area (Sannois, Enghien-les-Bains, etc.) located on the RER line and the express lines to the Gare Saint-Lazare and the Gare du Nord also have a very rich fabric of specialised SMEs: high technology and subcontracting for mechanics, plastics and electronics.

 THE "FRENCH VEXIN", which stretches over the entire western part of the département, has maintained its rural feel due to continued farming and its classification as a Regional Natural Park. The quality of life there attracts new inhabitants drawn by the advantages of choice property offers in a protected environment.

The CEEVO (Val D'Oise Economic Expansion Committee), as economic development agency of Val d'Oise County Council (« Conseil General »), has been serving companies in the département and those wishing to move there since 1973. Its work is organised around four key missions:

• opening up the Val d'Oise and its companies to the world,

• strengthening the département's industrial and technological vocation,

• developing networks of entrepreneurs, research scientists and institutions,

• promoting diversity in the département.
  These all rest on a single principle: making formalities in the département easier for all existing and potential stakeholders.

MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER IN THE VAL D'OISE!

 The work done by the CEEVO is valuable both for companies in the Val d'Oise seeking to develop exports and establish relationships with other countries, and for French and international companies wishing to locate to the Val d'Oise.

ASSISTANCE, ADVICE AND SUPPORT FOR COMPANIES

 The CEEVO keeps in contact with institutions and economic organisations. This comprehensive grasp of all relevant information enables the CEEVO to advise people setting up businesses and company heads. CEEVO's teams are available at all stages of the company life cycle: creation, expansion, research and innovation, internationalisation, transfer, acquisition and so on, working in partnership with other organisations involved in local development (consular assemblies, employers' unions, government departments, technopoles, incubators, business incubators, entrepreneurs' clubs, and others).

MANAGING AN ECONOMIC OBSERVATORY

 The CEEVO gathers and uses economic and statistical information relating to the situation and business of companies in the département. This data is processed and published to provide a reliable decision-making tool for company heads and economics officers.

ECONOMIC PROMOTION FOR THE VAL D'OISE

 The CEEVO regularly organises lectures and conferences and attends professional exhibitions in France and abroad. It instigates a large number of economic events and technical forums as well as running a « Val d'Oise Companies Information » point in the TGV station at Charles-de-Gaulle airport and offices in Osaka, Japan and Shanghai, China.

SUPPORT FOR COMPANIES LOCATING TO THE VAL D'OISE

 A regularly updated computer database (www.implantation95.com) has been compiled to provide a quick information service for company managers seeking land, premises or offices. The information is supplied on technical sheets sent to French and foreign companies looking for somewhere to locate their premises. The CEEVO can also accompany entrepreneurs visiting selected sites, putting them in contact with property developers or local authorities.

SUPPORT FOR EXPORTS

 Events and support organised under the auspices of the département's exports Committee, « Val d'Oise International » include day seminars on export techniques, conferences presenting external markets, administrative assistance for companies, approaches to foreign markets and participation at industrial shows worldwide.
The CEEVO is heavily involved in economic development agency international networks in Europe (EURADA) and worldwide (World Cities Alliance).