foreign companies bet on small French towns

Lièpvre is a small village in the Haut-Rhin, which has become an industrial city with a view of the Vosges. Here, the factories are running at full speed and are the pride of the inhabitants. “These are very big companies. It’s good for the valley”, greets a woman. 1,700 people live in Lièpvre, but twice as many work there thanks to foreign investors. They came to take advantage of land up to 7 times cheaper than in large cities.

Attractive business support

Hartmann, the German leader in medical devices, has established itself in the sector. “The machine runs at 270 layers per minute. We make about 3,000 over 24 hours”, says Denis Wachbar, a line manager. According to the director, the factory should soon produce twice as much with the arrival of a new high-performance production tool. This is the group’s second major investment in two years on the site. The contract was won thanks to the performance of the Alsatian plant and facilitated by French business aid schemes. 30 positions should be created.