Editor's Note: Last Fall's fact-finding tour of the Benelux yielded a number of surprises: a burgeoning auto industry in Flanders? [see related story]. Starbucks in Amsterdam? [check last month's edition]. Our final discovery was made in Rotterdam and Dongen, where we learned that Eastman Chemical Company has reached beyond its American home market to make international activities a substantial part of its portfolio. Eastman's European revenues reached over US$1 billion in 2000, nearly 20 % of Eastman's total revenue. Analysts at the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency provided World Trade with data suggesting that the region is well positioned for growth.--Patrick Burnson

Rotterdam -- In a strategic move to maintain its leading edge in the global marketplace, Eastman restructured its organization and split into two specialized divisions--Voridian Company and Eastman Chemical Company. Voridian is devoted to the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics, acetate fibers, and polyethylene market lines; while the remainder of Eastman Chemical Company focuses on specialty chemicals and plastics, as well as the company's strategic initiatives in less capital intensive businesses.

Barry Falin, Vice President of Manufacturing for Voridian, worked and lived in the Netherlands for four years while serving as Managing Director of the plant. He explains that the region offers many advantages for working with economies of scale.

"We were looking for a central location in the European Union with good access to airports, a quality labor force in terms of skills and language capabilities, and a business-friendly environment," says Falin. Also among Rotterdam's advantages is the fact that its high density of chemicals activity gives Voridian a unique opportunity to share materials, facilities, and infrastructure.

Another key finding was that Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), an anchor bottler for beverage behemoth The Coca-Cola Company, now operates in the Netherlands. When it acquired a bottling and distribution plant in the southern city of Dongen, the company quickly expanded its Dutch portfolio with two more plants in the 1990s. By 2000, CCE had to revamp its Dutch operations to accommodate future growth by centralizing operations at an expanded facility in Dongen.

The new consolidated operation, scheduled for completion in 2003, is expected to be the largest logistical center in Europe. Dongen, home to what is now CCE's only production facility in the Netherlands, provides a solid foundation for the company's growth.