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In our beautiful city of Zwolle. Where living and working is pleasant. A good place to experience. In Zwolle things are done a little different. Zwolle is a balanced city. Quality, innovation and a good atmosphere go hand-in-hand.

Zwolle is a relaxed and welcoming city. Its central location makes it also an accessible city. It is also a growing city with a good economy. We cherish our monumental city centre and work towards the future. We are the city: youth-ful and older residents, companies, schools, the municipality and all other organisations with a warm heart for Zwolle and its residents.

Be inspired by this brochure and the Zwolle economy clip.

With kind regards,

Henk Jan Meijer, MayorMunicipality of Zwolle

Welcome!

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wijs op reis4

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The Netherlands

•Numberofresidents:16.7million

• Averagepopulationgrowth:4.6%

• Area:41,528km²

• Economicgrowth:1.6%

•Unemployment:5.4%

• Inflation:2.7%

•Healthyorveryhealthy:80.3%

Zwolle

• 20thcityinTheNetherlands

• 2.5%ofGrossNationalProduct

• Averagepopulationgrowth:12.7%

• Populationdensity:10.6peopleperhectare

• Hasbeenintheeconomicperformancetop3formanyyears

• Strongestknowledgelevelgrowth

• Highlevelofeducation:4universitiesofappliedsciences

• Largestgeneralhospital(IsalaKlinieken)

Travel time by car from Zwolle

15-30minutes

30-60minutes

60-90minutes

90-120minutes

AmsterdamZwolle

Rotterdam |

Schiphol |

Strong economy

ThecentralandpivotlocationfortheWestandNorthhasensuredthattheeconomicperformanceofZwollehasbeenoneofthehighestintheNetherlands.Wehaveanactiveworkingpopulation:750ofevery1,000peopleareemployed.Thecityiswellabovethenational average.

Zwolleisthe20thmunicipalityoftheNetherlands(Amsterdamwithapopulationof755,000isnumberone;theZwolleregionhasapopulationof800,000).Arelativelyyoungworking population, low level of unemployment and a high work ethics make Zwolle a healthy working city.

Zwolle is fertile ground for new companies. Figuratively fertile, due to the wide range of services offered by the municipality and the welcoming attitude towards businesspeople. Literallyfertile,providingcustom-madespaceforsustainableentrepreneurialambition:AttheA28industrialsites,HessenpoortandVoorsterpoort,Hanzelandstationsiteandthe Oosterenk-Watersteeg business park. Zwolle being a pleasant city to live in makes it even more attractive as the place to establish new companies and institutes.

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Building the future

In Zwolle we work to improve quality of life. Quality is taken into consideration when we work to make the city a pleasant place to visit, to grow up in, to live a good life and to grow old in. Zwolle actively invests in music, theatre, education, healthcare and sports. For our own residents but also for the region.

TheIsalakliniekenhospitalthatistoopentheirultramodernbuildingtothepublicin2013andotherinstitutionsmakeZwolle an important healthcare centre.

Facts & figures

TheeconomyintheNetherlandsstartedtheyearwellandwillkeepongrowingsteadilyduringtheremainderof2011.Theeconomicgrowthforecastfor2012is2%.ThisbringstheDutchGrossNationalProductattheendof2011tothelevelitwasbeforetheeconomic crisis.

TheeconomyinZwollehasbeenprosperousforsometime.Employmentisgrowingandthe potential working population is also growing at the same pace. Zwolle has more jobs thanworkers.Thecity,therefore,playsanimportantemploymentroleintheregion.

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Working population Zwolle The Netherlands• Universitydegree

• Secondaryvocationaleducation

• Lowervocationaleducation

46%

38%

16%

34%

43%

23%

Disposable income Zwolle The Netherlands• Lowestincomegroup(upto€22,900)

• Middleincomegroup(upto€43,900)

• Highestincomegroup(morethan€43,900)

• Averagedisposableincomeperhousehold

41%

42%

17%

€32,900

40%

40%

20%

€34,300

Jobs per sector Zwolle The Netherlands• Industry

• Businessservices

• ICT

• Retail

• Non-commercialservices

8.1%

14.1%

4.0%

8.2%

37.0%

11.8%

14.9%

3.5%

9.4%

31.8%

Employment Zwolle The Netherlands• Employmentgrowth

• Employmentshare(%ofthepopulation)

8.6%

68.0%

5.2%

66.1%

Zwolle honour gallery

Economy• Besteconomicperformance 2ndplace•Welcomingtosmallandmedium-sizedbusinesses 3rdplace• Bestemployer 1stplace

Innovation• Strongestknowledgelevelgrowth with20%• Strongesteducationindexgrowth 1stplace• Businesswomanoftheyear:TheclaBodewes 2011• Businesswomanoftheyear:MarliesvanWijhe 2010•Nationalawardforsustainabilityandinnovation 2008

Living here• Topenjoymentwithregardtoliving 2ndplace• Fastestgrowingmunicipality 3rdplace• Fastesttourismpopularitygrowth by20%• GreenestcityinEurope 2006• Tastecapital 2008• Bestrestaurant:DeLibrije 3Michelinstars

Innovative

“Innovation is not a goal as such but a means to an end. By continually innovating, you keep your company and yourself healthy because you are always working on new ideas. Innova-tion is an absolute condition for advancing your company,” says Marlies van Wijhe, ManagingDirectorofVanWijheVerfandbusinesswomanoftheyear2010.

Another innovator and source of inspiration is thechemicalconcernDSMResinsinZwolle.Thecompanyisthesponsorandinnovationpartner of the Dutch bobsleigh team and developed a special resin that has never before been used in the construction of a bobsleigh. A bobsleigh descends a run within approximately one minute at a speed of more than150km/handisexposedtoaforceof5G.Speedisrewarded!

Top (inter)national companies

• Abbott

• ABNAMRO

•DSM

• Electrabel,GasdeFranceSuez

• Ferm

•DeLibrije

• Rabobank

• Scaniatrucks

• Vitens

•Wavin

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High level of education

Zwolle offers a pool of young, ambitious specialists. We are a true education city. What is on offer is divers and unique in the Netherlands.Wehaveacolourfulrangeofeducationalfacilities.OurfouruniversitiesofappliedsciencesandtwoRegionalTrain-ingCentresservealargeregion.Wecanevenofferuniversityeducation thanks to the collaboration between the Windesheim universityofappliedsciencesandtheUniversityofAmsterdam.

Eachyearmoreandmorestudentsregisterattheuniversitiesofappliedsciences.Theyareknowledgecentreswithlecturerswhere research on behalf of companies becomes ever more important and where competences are kept up-to-date. A city that wants to continue growing must make arrangements for the education of the next generation.

Number of students Zwolle The Netherlands

• Secondarytechnical and vocational training

21.660 522.274

• Highertechnicaland vocational training

24.363 403.278

Optimal accessibility

Zwolleischaracterisedbyitsfavourable(regional,nationalandeuroregional)geographiclocation.Thatiswhy the city is a perfect business location for business-people. Zwolle is a busy junction of motorways, streets, railwaysandothertrafficflows.Butthecitycanalsobereached by bicycle or water.

By carDuetothecity’slocationrightnexttotheA28motorway,Zwolleisperfectlyaccessiblebycar.Thisisan absolute advantage to companies: For their staff, suppliers,visitorsanddistributionpurposes.TheA28connects directly to the main traffic network of the Netherlands.TheA31isthemainnorth-southrouteinthewestofGermanyandisnomorethan60kmaway.ThismeansthereisaquickconnectionwithGermany,EasternEuropeandScandinavia.

By public transportTheZwolletrainstationhandles80,000travellerseveryday. And this number is growing since the construction oftheHanzeLineandtheincreaseofthestation’s

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capacityto100,000.ZwollehaseightconnectionsandisthesecondlargestrailwayjunctionintheNetherlands(afterUtrecht).Thestationiswithinwalkingdistanceofthecitycentreandschools.Thankstotheexcellentbusconnection(andfuturetramconnection),companiesandofficesareaccessibleinnotime.

ThenewHanzeLinebetweenLelystadandZwollewillbeopenedon12.12.12.Atrainjourneyofonly30minutesconnectsthetwocities.Thenorthandnorth-eastoftheNetherlandswillthenbemuchclosertotheRandstadconurbation.FromZwolleyouwillbeinAmsterdamwithinonehour,withSchipholnotfaraway.

Digital highwayZwolleisconnectedtothefastestopenfibreglassnetworkintheNetherlands.Thecity has its own fibreglass city ring and, therefore, many companies are assured ofaperfectconnection.Virtuallyallbusinessparksalsohavetheirownfibreglassnetwork.

Fibreglass is able to process much more data as it uses light signals and can cross larger distances without loss of quality or speed, not even when many people are simultaneously using the network. Businesspeople set high demands regarding an optimalICTenvironment.Inturn,themunicipalityreinforcesitscompetitivenessandinnovative capacity.

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Hospitality

Zwolleisacitywhereeveryonequicklyfeelsathome.Largeandsmall.Urbanandgreen.Thecityhasbeenawardedtitlesforbeinggreeninternationallypartlyduetoits many parks and canals, the attractive landscape with three rivers and many other waterbodies.WiththeVeluwe,Sallandandthewater-interspersedNorthernregionofOverijssel as a ‘back garden’, Zwolle is the ideal starting point for recreational activities and holidays.

Zwolle is very green but also has a beautiful town centre within the canals of the old citadel.ThestreetsandsquaresofthemedievalHansatownformtherichbackdroptomodern city life. Many thousands enjoy the popular small and large events in Zwolle.

Therangeofstoresandhigh-qualityrestaurantsandbarsincombinationwiththemanyoutdoor cafés and interesting museums have been the main reason to visit Zwolle for manyyears.ThenumberoftouristsvisitingZwolleisincreasingrapidlycomparedtothegeneralnationalincreaseoftourism.Thenumberofvisitorshasincreasedby20%inthelast two years.

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Fertile ground for companies

ThetypicalZwollebusinesscultureofthecityischaracterisedbyhavinganopen,no-nonsense, positive and honest business approach and by combining strengths. Zwolle - as a green residential city with many options - is also attractive to employees.

Therangeofbusinessesiswide,fromsmallscaletolargescale.Industrialestatesareeasily accessible and spatial. Zwolle will remain a vital location for offices to be estab-lished. A large package has been developed to prevent the lack of occupancy of offices and to ensure the offices that are not occupied are redeveloped to meet other needs.

Area Net size AvailabilityIndustrial estates

Office buildings

Total

4,000,000m²

668,000m²

4,668,000 m²

1,500,000m²

103,000m²

1,603,000 m²

Municipality of ZwolleSpatialplanningandEconomy

AddressPOBox100078000GAZwolleTheNetherlands

Telephone+31384982060

Emailbedrijven@zwolle.nl

Websitewww.zwolle.nl/economy

October2011