Invest in Western France, Pays de la Loire region

Invest in Pays de la Loire region : a dense and diversified industrial footprint region with a high quality of life

You may know the Pays de la Loire region in Western France for its beaches, wines and castles…

But did you know that beyond its undeniable quality of living, Pays de la Loire region still ranks the top 3 industrial regions of France thanks to its economic and demographic dynamism.

So, come to discover one of the most dynamic ecosystem of France!

Pays de la Loire region is located next to the Atlantic Ocean between Brittany, Paris and Bordeaux crossed by the Loire River and is characterized by a dense and diversified industrial footprint rooted by its ocean-oriented activities.

Pays de la Loire, an attractive region

Pays de la Loire region is home to numerous key French cities and towns including Nantes, Angers, Le Mans, Laval, and La Roche-sur-Yon, and the area is buoyed by the energetic urban dynamism each one offers.

A young and dynamic region:

  • 32,100 km², same size as Belgium
  • 3.7 million inhabitants, + 30,000 people a year
  • 700,000 additional inhabitants by 2040
  • Nantes: 6th French city (600,000 inhabitants)
  • 31 % of the population is under 24
  • 1.7 million active people

A strong economy

  • € 28,639 GDP / head
  • 9 competitiveness clusters
  • 146,200 local companies
  • 1,200 foreign companies
  • 18 million visitors welcomed each year

The highest employment figures in France

  • 285,948 students
  • 4 universities
  • 39 higher education sites

The highly skilled labour force is a main attraction. In addition, the Pays de la Loire region has the highest employment figures in France with 66% of the working age population employed (excluding Paris).

Pays de la Loire, a region connected to the world

Nantes Atlantique airport is the 1st international airport of Western France with 89 worldwide destinations. Several low-cost companies serve the airport: Easyjet, Ryanair, Flybe, Volotea, Transavia. It's 1h from Paris, 1h30 from Amsterdam, 1h45 from London, 2h from Berlin and 7h from Montreal.

Nantes Saint-Nazaire port is the 1st seaport of Western France, linked to 400 world seaports. There are direct lines to West Indies and South Africa.

There are many shipping lines that join Nantes. Many products arrive there every day: cereals, hydrocarbons, wood, coals, livestock products...

Pays de la Loire Region is also served by high speed trains with 230 destinations in France and in Europe with 20 daily services:

  • Le Mans/Paris: 0h54
  • Nantes/Paris : 2h20
  • Angers/Brussels: 3h
  • Le Mans/London: 3h30

Pays de la Loire région has also good road infrastuctures with a dense highways network (660 km) :

  • West-East highways towards Paris and Lyon
  • North-South highways towards Europe: Brussels, London, Spain, Portugal…

Industry at the heart of regional economic dynamism

The region is even the test and pioneer region of the advanced manufacturing. The local authorities invest to create a favorable ecosystem for the setting up of new companies on its territory where innovation and improvements to industrial processes are at the heart of the battle for competitiveness.

We have 6 clusters of excellence with national leadership, in:

  • Advanced Manufacturing Technologies
  • Shipbuilding and pleasure boat industry
  • Agri-food industry
  • Health industry and alternative therapies
  • Marine Renewable Energy
  • Professional Electronics & Digital Technology

These sectors represent a windfall for digital companies wishing to participate in the modernization and automation of our industrial tools.

A culture of networking with 9 comptetitiveness clusters :

  • Atlanpole Biotherapies
  • Elastopôle
  • EMC2
  • iD4CAR
  • Images and Réseaux
  • Pôle Mer Bretagne Atlantique
  • S2E2
  • Valorial
  • Vegepolys

And with leading companies: Accenture, Ackerman, Airbus, Alstom-GE, Axiome, Beneteau, BN, Claas, Daher, Duqueine group, Esterline, Eurofins, Europe Technologies, Europlacer, Fleury Michon, GKN Driveline, Gruau, GSK, Huguet, Kuhn, Lactalis, LoireTech, Longchamp, LU, Manitou Group, Porsche, Scania, Sepro group, Souriau, Stelia, STX, Terrena, Thales, Valeo, Yaskawa…

A talented and highly-skilled labor force:

  • A worker tradition (shipyards, Airbus, Bénéteau)
  • Strong experience in technical learning and education: 28,000 apprentices i.e 6% of the young population (16-25 years) (5% in France)
  • 22,000 high-level technicians are trained every year

Excellence in education

  • 4 universities
  • 1 American university
  • 13 engineering or business schools
  • 2 international secondary schools

Research

  • 11,800 R&D researchers
  • 380 research teams
  • 200 laboratories

Local opportunities

  • Commercial Real Estate Read more
  • Business ecosystem Read more
  • Legal & tax services Read more
  • Public funding & incentives Read more
  • Setting up facilitation Read more



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