GELDERLAND - Economy
Mosaic industrial structure
Enterprises employing less than 10 people dominate industry in the province, and only a small number employ more than 100 people. Manufacturing and services have both made good progress in Gelderland. In particular, commerce, transport, communications and other business services have given the regional economy a boost.The level of exports is somewhat lower than the national average (which is high), with the exception of the central Gelderland area. A striking feature of the province's economy is that although it is largely services-oriented, the percentage of enterprises investing in R&D is above the national average. The growth in the regional product has also been above the national average since 1985. The international character of Gelderland's economy is borne out by the presence of foreign companies such as BASF. A number of major Dutch companies such as Philips, Parenco, and Gazelle are also present. The chemicals giant Akzo-Nobel has its headquarters in Arnhem. The transport sector is equally international and the region has a transit container terminal for rail and water transport. Nijmegen has a large number of high-tech companies.
Finally, Gelderland's agricultural sector has two specialities: fruit from the Betuwe and poultry products from the Veluwe (eggs and breeding chicks).
Balanced sectoral structure
The varying fortunes of the different sectors have brought about changes in the structure of production.
The somewhat great importance of agriculture in Gelderland can be ascribed to the traditional agricultural sector in the Achterhoek and the Rivierenland. The province has benefited from the positive developments in the national economy which have produced an 'overspill' of activity from the Randstad. The main effect of this has been that the services sector, which was lagging behind the rest of the country in the 1970s, has since managed to catch up. Within the services sector, commerce, hotels, catering and tourism, financial and business services and transport are all strongly represented. Although the share of the industrial sector has declined by 7% over the last 10 years. Gelderland's industry tends to be oriented towards domestic markets (cattle feed, wood and building materials, paper and printing, and metal products). Export-oriented industries such as basic metals, electrical goods and vehicle manufacture are less important.
The province's road, rail and waterway links with the rest of the Netherlands and Europe are good. International airports such as Schiphol, Brussels and Düsseldorf are all found within 150 kilometres of the province's main cities. Teuge airport, near Apeldoorn, Gelderland's third city, is used for business flights. Also, new rail links are planned: a dedicated freight line and a link to Europe's high-speed train network. Motorways make the Randstad and Germany easily accessible.
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