I amsterdam - Aalsmeer

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Aalsmeer is a small but important municipality for the Amsterdam Area. The industrial focus is horticulture and the area has a long tradition of flowerbulb production. The proximity of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is another reason why Aalsmeer, with 23,000 residents living in the municipality, is home to the world’s largest flower auction, which employs about 2,000 people directly.

Alsmeer Flower Auction
The Aalsmeer Flower Auction (VBA) is Europe’s largest commercial complex. The VBA handles more than 21 million plants and flowers per day, supplied by 6,000 growers in the Netherlands and other countries. Turnover in 2004 was EUR 1.63 billion. VBA’s massive complex (1 million square metres) has a 13-kilometre state-of-the-art internal transport system, the Aalsmeer Shuttle, conveying floricultural products on an electronically controlled aerial rail system from auctions at VBA-Centre across the motorway to customers at VBA-South, a recently developed business park that is home to some 25 wholesalers and exporters.

Flower Parade
The Aalsmeer Flower Parade is one of the Netherlands’ top annual events, held every year on the first Saturday in September. A stunning showcase for the area’s green fingers, a three-kilometre ribbon of flowers winds its way from Aalsmeer via Haarlemmermeer [+internal link?] and Amstelveen [+internal link?] to the heart of Amsterdam.

TV Production House
Floriculture galore, but there are also other aspects to Aalsmeer’s business world. Endemol Nederland, an independent television production company, has its Dutch studios in Aalsmeer. The Endemol Group is best known for Big Brother, Fear Factor, All You Need is Love and Changing Rooms, all TV formats which are international hits. The Endemol Group of companies produces more than 25,000 hours of television per year, spread over approximately 400 different programme series, and the company employs about 3,300 full-time employees. In 2003, the Endemol Group had a combined turnover of €914 million.

Yacht and Shipbuilders
Aalsmeer is an area with plenty of open water and sailing enthusiasts. There are a number of leading yacht and shipbuilders: Gouwerok  is specialised in motor cruisers, the Van Dam Nordia Shipyard, established in 1881, enjoys a worldwide reputation as a builder of 50- to 100-feet luxury yachts, and De Vries Scheepsbouw is dedicated to building custom-built motoryachts with a workforce of 250 highly skilled craftsmen.

More Information:
Municipality of Aalsmeer

Get in touch with the Amsterdam Foreign Investment Office at afio@ez.amsterdam.nl or see www.afio.amsterdam.nl for more information.