Manufacturing in the Netherlands

The Netherlands' strong manufacturing position has attracted over 1,850 North American companies - one third of them Fortune 500 companies - and a large number of European and Asian companies for assembling and manufacturing operations.

Key factors for manufacturing in Europe

Crucial factors that contribute to making the Netherlands a good location for manufacturing facilities are the excellent distribution infrastructure, proximity to a wide range of markets, technical sophistication and leadership, availability of materials and suppliers, and a workforce that is highly educated, multilingual, productive and flexible.

Productive workforce

The high productivity in the Netherlands is a result of the high overall standard of education and training, an efficient work organization, a relatively high level of automation and efficiency in production processes, the good working attitude of the Dutch employees and their flexibility, and a small number of working days lost to strikes annually.

Supplier network

More than two-thirds of the Dutch gross domestic product is fueled by the service industry, the largest sector. The Netherlands features a strong and diverse manufacturing sector as well, led by the agro-industrial, chemical, electronics and metal industries. This is demonstrated by the fact that five of the world's leading multinationals - Philips, Unilever, Royal Dutch Shell Group, DSM and Akzo Nobel - were founded in the Netherlands.

Logistics infrastructure

Two of the Netherlands' greatest assets are its world-renowned entry points: Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and the Port of Rotterdam. Added to these are the country's lattice work of river connections that are overlaid with a dense infrastructure of ultramodern and well-maintained roads, railways, inland waterways, pipelines, airports and seaports.