The Netherlands Prime Minister and Flanders Minister-President Meet with U.S. Executives in Atlanta

ATLANTA, Oct. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands and Minister-President Geert Bourgeois of Flanders, Belgium visited the Atlanta region this week for an economic mission to promote the strong business and cultural ties between the Netherlands-Flanders region and Atlanta.

During the mission, the Prime Minister and Minister-President invited top executives from the Atlanta region to an investment luncheon, hosted by the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) and Flanders Investment and Trade (FIT). Companies with existing operations in the Netherlands-Flanders region were represented at the event, including Coca-Cola, Delta, Graphic Packaging, Infor, Interface, ICE (Intercontinental Exchange), Mohawk and UPS.

The U.S. is the largest foreign investor in the Netherlands-Flanders 'Business Delta.' Likewise, several companies from the Netherlands-Flanders have operations in the Atlanta region—including KLM, VanderLande Industries, Barco, Bekaert, BCD Group and Unibind.

The community of Dutch and Flemish companies in the Atlanta region continues to grow, with new investment announcements being made during the mission by Dutch-based companies Backbase, a financial technology firm, and Fokker Aerostructures, an aircraft systems manufacturer. On top of that, Flemish steel wire manufacturer Bekaert is at this very moment reinvesting $29 million in its production plant in Rome, Ga. while Aluvision, a manufacturer of modular aluminum systems, is about to open a 30,000-square-foot production facility in Duluth, Ga.

Other activities included in the mission's agenda were meetings with Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Ambassador Andrew Young, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.

"With shared strengths in financial technology, cybersecurity and logistics, the Netherlands-Flanders region and Atlanta are strategic economic partners," said Allison Turner, Director of NFIA's Atlanta office.

Last year, both FIT and NFIA assisted in the attraction of nearly $4.5 billion in capital investment by 125 companies ranging from European headquarters to manufacturing plants. Among the leading North American companies opening or expanding were Google, Netflix, ExxonMobil, Palo Alto Networks, Chauvet, Celanese, Sparkcentral, Medline, Cargill, American Eagle, Mohawk, Ball Corporation, Conwed and PPG Industries.

"Thanks to Flanders' and the Netherlands' competitive tax offerings, highly educated, English-speaking talent pool and superior logistics and technology infrastructure, North American companies continually choose our 'Business Delta' as their gateway to Europe," Wim Van Cauteren, Investment and Trade Commissioner at FIT Atlanta, noted.

The NFIA maintains U.S. offices in Atlanta as well as Chicago, Boston, New York City and San Francisco, whereas FIT is based in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Atlanta. For more information, visit www.investinholland.com and www.investinflanders.com.

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SOURCE Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency