Discovering the regionCentres & Industrial Sectors

Béziers Méditerranée contains a range of leading centres of excellence:

• mechanical and metal-working
  

  The mechanical industry is a major activity in the conurbation, with the skills and the know-how required for all types of specialist, complex work in the field of metallurgy and precision mechanics.

  The sector is changing constantly, taking on new forms of know-how and expertise in areas such as subcontracting, and already fully meets the expectations of a number of sectors ( oil industries, energy, transport, etc. ).

  The sector contains over 150 companies and represents over 4,500 jobs. Its flagship companies – Cameron, Altrad and Mécanic Sud – are widely known outside France. The CAMDIB Association (Metal Alliance Club for the Development of Béziers’ Industries) represents most of the companies in the sector and is also a member of the VIAMECA competitive cluster.

  OSL Testimony: « Excellent local know-how combined with a high level of training »

  Oil Services Limited (precision mechanics for the oil industry) is investing 2 million euros in its new site. CEO Thierry BARTHE said: « Here in Béziers we have local know-how and an environment that favours our development, particularly in the area of high-level training, with the Jean-Moulin technical school and its technology platform ».

  OSL ( www.osl-group.com )

   
• logistics and transport
  

  At the heart of a conurbation chosen by internationally-known logistics companies for its qualified subcontractors and labour force, Béziers Méditerranée is reinforcing its role as a logistics centre by offering available, attractive land at the heart of the Mediterranean Arc. It has a wide range of advantages for logistics :

  • A strategic multimodal position
    • - A9/A75/A61motorway hub
    • - Rail, air and port services (Sète, Port-la-Nouvelle, etc.)
  • Strong demographic growth
    • - 2,600,000 inhabitants in LR, 285,000 inhabitants *
    • - 400,000 inhabitants *
  • A strong industrial fabric
    • - 190,000 companies in LR, 23,000 companies *
    • - 9,700 industrial companies in LR
    • - equipment assets, food industry, mineral products, chemicals, pharmacy, metallurgy and metal-working

  * Béziers’ consolidated catchment area

  LIDL Testimony « Affordable land and large-scale recruitment »

  In Béziers, distribution giant LIDL has invested 25 million euros in the construction of a 38 000 m² logistics base used to serve forty stores. 150 people will eventually be employed on the site, which is being built to HEQ standards. « The wide choice of land options and the combined support of Béziers Méditerranée Expansion and Pôle Emploi (French Job Centre) have enabled us to move in without a hitch and quickly recruit a qualified workforce » said Laurent OUGHDENTZ, LIDL’s regional director, at the inauguration.

  LIDL ( www.lidl.fr )

   
• packing and packaging
  

  The packaging sector has developed around rapidly-growing sectors such as the food industry, biotechnologies and health, renewable energies, the environment and logistics and occupies an important position with 300 companies (all sectors included: paper, cardboard, rubber, plastic, wood, glass, metal, etc. ). Based in Béziers, the Mediterranean packing centre, MIDIPACK, set up on the initiative of the Béziers Méditerranée Conurbation Community, contains some thirty companies (37.5 million euros in sales, 250 jobs)

  BREGER SUD Testimony: « packaging: a fast-growing sector »

  « As part of the MIDIPACK network, we are strategically focused on development and innovation. Breger’s men and women form a team of experts who, over the years, have acquired the experience and know-how to get the best out of industrial equipment, innovative technologies and manufacturing processes and to create customer satisfaction and loyalty ».
  Christine MARY, Manager of the Béziers site.

  BREGER SUD EMBALLAGES ( www.breger-packaging.com )

   
• renewable energies
  

  Abundant natural resources in the conurbation – wind, solar thermal, photovoltaic and biomass energies - have given rise to a fast-growing sector. A partner to the DERBI Competitive Cluster ( Development of Renewable Energies for Building and Industry ), the Béziers Méditerranée Conurbation Community has introduced a renewable energy development plan to reinforce the vitality of the R.E. sector. A number of leading companies in the sector have chosen to move to the area : JMB Energies, EDF Energies Nouvelles, A.C.O., etc.

  JMB Energie Testimony « Renewable energy with Béziers Méditerranée : strong potential for growth and diversification »

  JMB ENERGIE produces electricity of renewable origin, mainly from wind and solar photovoltaic energy. « As a result of the combined efforts of the professionals and Béziers Méditerranée Conurbation, the R.E. sector is soundly structured locally, and this leads us to envisage strong growth in the photovoltaic and biogas sectors, » said the head of the company Jean Marc BOUCHET.
  

  JMB ENERGIE ( www.jmbenergies.com )
   
   

   
• environment
  

  In the last few years, Béziers Méditerranée Conurbation Community has focused its promotional and prospecting strategy on the environment sector, with a view to safeguarding its natural resources. Recycling and waste recovery companies now form part of the local economic fabric. Béziers Méditerranée is also introducing a proactive plan for identifying business parks based on renewable energies, mainly for land-based wind-farms, biomass recovery and photovoltaic energy. In this context, the economic agency Béziers Méditerranée Expansion provides precious day-to-day logistical, technical and financial support, acting as a driving force and the guarantee of a successful set-up from an environmental point of view.

  IPAQ Testimony
  « The proximity of thee resource for a pioneer recycling plant »

  IPAQ Béziers treats and recycles all the household glass from Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The factory is a model of environmental quality and is equipped with the very latest, most efficient technologies, particularly with regard to the extraction of vitroceramics and special types of glass.
  Nicolas BONIN of IPAQ explains: « Béziers Méditerranée Expansion’s expertise and advice reinforced our wish to set up on a site close to the glass-maker O-I, on the « Béziers Ouest » Business Park ».

  IPAQ ( www.ipaq-recycling.fr )

   
• information and communication technologies
  

  The information and communication technologies are vital factors for company competitiveness. A number of local companies in the sector now have a national influence. In addition, the Béziers Méditerranée Conurbation is finalising the introduction of an ambitious Superfast Broadband plan: 80 km of networks, 10 million euros invested, 153 public sites on a network and fibre optic cable brought to the boundary of every plot of business land. In 2010, every business park in the Conurbation will be cabled, and every company will be able to connect up to the system.

  G2MS Testimony « Taking full advantage of the potential of Superfast Broadband Internet »

  For the last 13 years, G2MS has been advising and supporting companies in the development of their activities on the Internet. The G2MS agency promotes solutions adapted to the company’s needs in the face of the rapid rise of the new information and communication technologies. « The fact that the whole of the Béziers Méditerranée conurbation is to brought up to Superfast Broadband standard means that every company director can develop an e-approach to his business and become more competitive, » said Sabrina ROGE, head of the G2MS agency.

  G2MS ( www.g2ms.com )

   
• wine-making
  

  At the heart of France’s second-biggest wine-making department, wine production in the Conurbation covers 15,000 hectares, producing an annual volume of 2.5 million hectolitres. It is made up of 4 wine identities: Vins de Pays d'Oc, AOC Coteaux du Languedoc Terrasses de Béziers, Vins de pays des Côtes de Thongue and Vins de pays Coteaux du Libron.

  Béziers Méditerranée Conurbation has set up a special department to support members of the local wine industry :
  Béziers Méditerranée Œnopole (B.M.O.).

  Among its professional activities, Béziers Méditerranée Oenopole is dedicated to:

  • helping to structure and develop the wine and traditional/gourmet product sectors (in partnership with the representative organisations), in the areas of promotion and marketing;
  • encouraging and accompanying the cooperatives in their efforts to group together to meet market needs. The recent merger between the Cers, Portiragnes and Villeneuve cooperatives, aimed at joint marketing and a new quality approach is just one example;
  • former les professionnels de la viticulture aux nouvelles formes de consommation, de distribution et de promotion ;
  • training members of the wine industry in the new forms of consumption, distribution and promotion; accompanying the search for new export markets. These international economic initiatives are mainly focused on existing Béziers Airport departure destinations (United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Germany) and towns that have been involved in local twinning schemes (Belgium);
  • accompanying local wine tourism events by promoting local production as part of « Lifestyle » , outstanding scenery and heritage.

  
   

   
• tourism
  

  One of the Béziers Méditerranée Conurbation Community's key aims is to « raise Béziers Méditerranée to the ranks of a recognised tourist destination ». Tourism is also one of the pillars of the local economy, creating jobs and wealth.

  In order to create a consistent strategy for tourism across the Conurbation, it has been decided to set up a Community Tourist Office ( see website www.beziersmediterranee.com ) and a Tourist Engineering Department (SIT).

  With its two complementary sub-departments ( Engineering Strategy and Engineering Resources ), SIT supports and accompanies outside investors in their efforts to set up tourism and leisure projects, and local councils that are seeking to promote their tourism initiatives.

   

  

  SIT's Engineering Strategy department is involved in the following tasks :

  • structuring and coordinating local leisure and tourism networks,
  • advising and accompanying structuring projects within the Conurbation,
  • overseeing assessments for the Conurbation,
  • testing actions, pilot projects and experimental, innovative approaches in the field of tourism and leisure,
  • developing and popularising tourism research and what it teaches us.

  With the Engineering Resources department and in close consultation with the tourism monitoring centre, SIT provides tourism and leisure businesses with a range of reliable data and support for all company and tourism projects.

  Among the actions currently taking place or about to take place: developing and diversifying the environmental potential of the coastline, supporting structuring amenities such as Béziers Airport and the A75, developing a ports policy, developing the River Orb, developing the flagship « 9 locks » site at Fonseranes on the Canal du Midi, adding to the sports leisure offer, including mountain biking, studying tourist signposting systems, etc.
   
   

   

Between traditional and high-technology activities, the momentum of these steadily-growing sectors is reinforced on a day-to-day basis by the expertise of the « Béziers Méditerranée Expansion » economic development agency and structuring investment by the Conurbation Community : developing modern infrastructures, deploying of fibre optic cable, setting up a knowledge and higher education campus, etc.