Business parks occupy only 4.5% of Limburg’s surface area. Despite this relatively small share, they are extremely important to Limburg’s economy. They accommodate almost a quarter of the companies in Limburg, which together generate 38% of the jobs in the province. This is according to calculations by POM Limburg.
POM Limburg is the economic director of the province of Limburg. One of its tasks is to provide sufficient high-quality space for business, for example in the form of industrial estates. In order to map the impact of these industrial estates on Limburg’s economy, POM Limburg linked the business data from the VKBO, the GIS and the RSZ.
Tom Vandeput, Deputy for Economy and Chairman of POM Limburg: “In Limburg, industrial estates cover an area of 11,036 hectares. That is roughly equivalent to the area of Sint-Truiden. In total, industrial estates cover 4.5% of Limburg’s total area. Proportionally, this is more than in Flanders, where industrial estates account for 3.5% of the total area.”
Almost 1 in 4 companies
Although industrial estates occupy relatively little space in the total area, they are the backbone of Limburg’s economy. In total, Limburg’s industrial estates will have more than 5,100 business locations by 2024. This means that 23% of the companies that employ staff in Limburg are located on an industrial estate.
All companies located on an industrial estate in Limburg together account for approximately 116,000 salaried jobs. This represents 38% of all jobs in Limburg. Almost four in ten salaried jobs are therefore carried out on an industrial estate. On average, a company on an industrial estate has 22.5 employees. For companies outside an industrial estate, the average is 11.
Industry and trade
The majority of companies located on industrial estates in Limburg are active in trade (29%). These are mainly wholesale businesses and distribution centres. They are followed by industry and construction (19% each). Together, these three sectors account for two-thirds of all companies on industrial estates.
However, industrial companies provide the largest number of jobs on business parks: more than one third (34%) of all employment on business parks is in industrial companies. This represents more than 39,000 jobs. Within the industrial sector itself, this means that approximately 9 out of 10 jobs are located in a business park. Wholesale and retail trade (15%), logistics (12%) and construction (10%) are also well represented in terms of employment in business parks.
Genk has the largest
With 1,677 hectares and a 19% share of the total municipal area, the city of Genk has the largest area of industrial estates of all Limburg municipalities, both in absolute and relative terms. The city also has the largest number of business locations (494) and the largest number of jobs (almost 16,000) in an industrial estate. The latter accounts for 42% of total employment in Genk.
Lommel and Tessenderlo-Ham also have a relatively large area of industrial estates (16% and 11% respectively). Proportionally, most employment is created in Oudsbergen: 66% of jobs are found in companies on an industrial estate. In Lummen and Halen, too, more than six out of ten jobs are on an industrial estate. Municipalities with hardly any companies or jobs on industrial estates are Heers, Voeren and Leopoldsburg.
Economic hotspots
‘It should be clear that the business parks are the province’s economic hotspots par excellence,’ says Deputy and POM Chairman Tom Vandeput. “Not only do they host numerous companies and jobs, they also form the spatial force for innovation and growth. Within the guidelines set out in the Limburg Spatial Pact 2040, POM Limburg will continue to work on high-quality economic space in the coming years, with a special focus on sustainability and eco-efficiency.”
