FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Who established the Europark? Who is in charge at the Europark? When has the Europark to be ready? What kind of companies is the Europark aiming for? How much costs the land on Europark? Which extra value has Europark in comparison with other business parks? Are the Dutch or German laws in force at the Europark? For which cities and how often leave freight trains from the Europark? What kind of ships can reach the harbour of the Europark? At the north side of the Europark trains, ships and trucks can load, discharge and transfer their cargo quickly. In this connection sometimes Euro Terminal Coevorden is mentioned, another time the Regional Transshipping Centre. And there is a separate Port Authority too. How is that? And how do they cooperate? Who established the Europark? The municipalities of Coevorden and Emlichheim. These two municipalities saw to it that an independent development company realizes this business park. This company, completely called Europark Coevorden-Emlichheim Ltd. is seated in the former custom office . The land of Europark is in different possessions. At the time the established companies bought their land from the municipality. Now, about 90 hectares are directly for sale. In the future Europark wants to purchase another 130 hectares from farmers on the German side of the border for further development of the business park. This will happen step by step. For further information, see Organization. Who is in charge at the Europark? The development company Europark Coevorden-Emlichheim Ltd. This company however owns justification to the municipalities of Coevorden and Emlichheim and to the so called “Aufsichtsrat” (Supervisory Board). Especially with the municipalities there’s a lot of consulting about, for example, development regulations, the lay-out of roads, cables, sewerages, streetlamps etc. the traffic rules, building- and environmental regulations for the companies, subsidy requests etc. Read more about this in the chapter Organization. When has the Europark to be ready? There is no fixed date. The municipalities agreed to a step by step development of the business park, depending on the demand and the economic circumstances. The Europark Ltd. however take care that there is enough land available immediately and that the infrastructure (roads, cables, railway) in that area is ready in time for a company to settle down quickly. For this a planning in four phases has been made. Now phase two will be started. The delivery of the last phase, phase 4, is for the time being planned in 2010, but it might be earlier or later, depending on the demand. Read more about this in Europark Facts, number 3. What kind of companies is the Europark aiming for? Logistics and space are strong trump cards of the Europark. If desired, very big lots are available. Even companies needing more than 50 hectares can settle down. But even more important are the excellent logistic facilities of the Europark: supply and removal conditions, storage and transshipment facilities and also knowledge and service in the field of logistics and transportation. Therefore our acquisition is especially aimed at companies considering logistics as very important. For example companies that supply goods or semi-manufactured articles as raw materials and assemble, shape or work up, pack and further distribute these. This is called “Value added logistics”. These are, for example, assembly companies (electronics, vehicles, clothes) and companies in the food processing industry, distribution and packing companies. See also Europark Facts and The Concept. How much costs the land on Europark? There is no standard price for the lots. The price depends upon location and possible additional wishes, such as a rail connection or extra glass fiber cable. The prices range from 18,50 €/m² zzgl. UST (among others big lots on the German side of the border) up to € 65/m2 (harbour area). See also Buy lots. What extra value has Europark in comparison with other business parks? In short: multimodal logistics (!) and if desired very large lots even larger than 50 hectares. Multimodal logistics means all goods, whether in containers or not, can be transported by road, water and rail, three modalities. Ships, trains and lorries are loaded and discharged at Europark’s terminal. In the harbour containers can be placed on ship or train in one handling. This combination of harbour and railroad is unique. See also Europark Facts, number 4. Are the Dutch or German laws in force at the Europark? The Europark is a pilot of the European Union. The European ideal of “business without borders” must become a reality here. The entrepreneur must have the benefits of two countries without experiencing administrative or other hindrances. This sounds attractive, but in practice there are numerous bureaucratic thresholds. Therefore, by order of both governments and supported by the European Union, a group of Dutch and German lawyers sorts out the way to realize this ideal for the best. At various parts successes were already scored, especially concerning custom services and transportation rules. But as far as, for example, building-, environmental- and fiscal rules are concerned there is (still) a separation between the Dutch and the German part of the Europark. See also Remove Boarders. For which cities and how often leave freight trains from the Europark? The Europark Ltd. and its partners continually work on new connections for freight transport. At the moment they are checking if it is possible to realize connections with the port of Amsterdam and Kutno. At present a shuttle train rides 4 times a week between the port of Rotterdam and Coevorden/Europark. And daily trains leave for various large cities all over Europe. Altogether there are 23 different destinations, including Hamburg, Verona, Vitoria (Spain), Salzburg, Brest (Belarus), Budapest and Warsaw. The Europark rail terminal (ETC) is also included in the so called X-network of Intercontainer Interfrigo, a network for goods- and container transport by train between 160 intermodal terminals through Europe. See also Logistics and Europark Facts. What kind of ships can reach the harbour of the Europark? 800 ton-ships. For example a so called Neo-Kempenaar. The aim is to make the harbour suitable for 1000 ton-ships within a few years. The harbour itself is suited for this. Also the waterway from the harbour to the first locks (De Haandrik locks) is suited for 1000 ton-ships. In the further section of the waterway, up to Almelo, there are still some impediments. The Province of Overijssel and the municipalities involved are busy to remove these bottle- necks. First of all to make it suitable for 800 ton-ships to arrive in Coevorden faster. This will be the case in 2006. The capacity of container transport through the canal will be tripled by then. See also under Logistics and Europark Facts. At the north side of the Europark trains, ships and trucks can load, discharge and transfer their cargo quickly. In this connection sometimes Euro Terminal Coevorden is mentioned, another time the Regional Transshipping Centre. And there is a separate Port Authority too. How is that? And how do they cooperate? All together the area can be indicated as the Regional Transshipping Centre. This indicates, among other things, it is a public area, meaning each transporter can transfer goods and the authorities see to it that everything runs well and that previously determined, competitive tariffs are handled. The companies in care of loading and discharging cooperate together. The Bentheimer Eisenbahn for example takes care of the transport by rail. This railway company also carries out the management of the rail terminal, the Euro Terminal Coevorden, in which logistic companies such as Hentzen participate. These companies arrange and take care about transportation, storage and transshipment of goods from A to Z. Therefore they have disposal of large, modern storage sheds. The Port Authority coordinates the loading and discharging activities in the harbour, but also stimulates the traffic of goods by water towards Coevorden. More information can be found under Logistics.