Doing Business in the Netherlands 2012 - American Chamber of ...

Doing Business in the Netherlands 2012
industrial hub in Europe. With a throughput of approximately 430
million tons of goods in 2011, Rotterdam is by far the largest seaport
in Europe. The port along the rivers Meuse and Rhine provides
excellent access to the hinterland upstream reaching to Basel,
Switzerland and into France. It is the gateway to a European market
of 350 million consumers. The port’s main activities are
petrochemical industries and general cargo handling and
transshipment. The harbor functions as an important transit point for
bulk material and between the European continent and overseas.
From Rotterdam, goods are transported by ship, river barge, train or
truck.
In 2011, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol provided direct connections to
313 European and intercontinental airports in 99 countries. With
passenger numbers totaling 49.8 million, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
was ranked as Europe’s fourth largest passenger airport in 2011, and
Europe’s third largest individual cargo airport, handling over 1.5
million tons of cargo in that year. Air transport movements in 2011
totaled 420,245, making Amsterdam Airport Schiphol the fifth largest
European airport in terms of air transport movements. The airport is
an important location for businesses. 514 companies were located at
the airport in 2011, offering direct employment to about 60,000
people.
The Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX) is the largest internet
hub in Europe. After New York and London, Amsterdam is the most
connected city in terms of broadband capacity. Interconnecting
hundreds of networks by offering professional IP exchange services,
AMS-IX serves a very diverse and unique mix of Internet companies
including international carriers, mobile operators, content providers,
voiceover IP parties, application providers, hosting companies,
television broadcasters and other related businesses.
These different systems of infrastructure are some of the reasons the
Netherlands is often called the “Gateway to Europe.” As the gateway
to Western and Eastern Europe, the Netherlands enables companies to
Baker & McKenzie 11