Learn About Lille - The Food Industry Powerhouse of Northern France
Tuesday 11th March 2015, The Clarion Hotel, Cork
08.00-10.30
Join the Enterprise Europe Network on Wednesday 11th March, to learn about Lille. Located in Northern France, on the border with Belgium, the Lille region provides access to 78 million consumers and 5 European capitals within a radius of 300km. The region has a particularly strong food industry, and is home to many food industry leaders, including Coca-Cola, Danone, McCain, Tate & Lyle, and Kerry Group, to name but a few. The Boulogne-sur-Mer seafood centre in Lille is the largest seafood processing centre in Europe, processing 300,000 tons of seafood annually. Two leading regional clusters include the Nutrition, Health, Longevity (NHL) and Eurasanté clusters and these clusters represent the region’s strengths in the food and pharma/healthcare sectors.
Speakers will include:
- Olivier Charras, Project Manager – Nord France Invest
- Capucine Maës - Deputy Development Director, Nutrition Health & Longevity (NHL) Cluster
- Emmanuelle Cousin – Project Manager, Nutrevent
Why attend this seminar?
The seminar is designed for Irish companies looking to expand into mainland Europe and who want to learn more about the supports and incentives available via Nord France Invest. Furthermore, companies looking for business partnership opportunities, or collaboration opportunities in the area of R&D and innovation, particularly in the Agri-food and health industries, will learn more about how to explore these opportunities.
An Introduction to UCC food research and EU project specialists
Following the seminar, from 10.30-11.30, there will be an opportunity for one-to-one meetings and networking with the speakers from Lille and also with some of the UCC food research and EU project experts. There will be a brief introduction to food research at UCC (Prof. Alan Kelly, UCC) and H2020 opportunities in this area (Dr Sonia Monteiro, UCC). SMEs in the food/health sectors that are investing in R&D or have experience of EU projects are invited to join this meeting to investigate potential areas of future collaboration. (Please advise when booking for this event if you would like to stay for this meeting/networking opportunity and if there is anyone in particular that you would like to speak to during a 1:1 meeting.)
Who should attend?
Organisations working in the agri-food/health/logistics sectors or anyone with an interest in the Lille region, including SMEs and MNCs; Researchers; Industry clusters; Educational bodies. For more information contact Katherine@corkchamber.ie
Speaker Profiles:
Olivier Charras, Project Manager – Nord France Invest
Olivier has a Masters in International Management (ESC Poitiers Business School – Sherbrooke University (Quebec)) and is a graduate of Graduate of ESC Poitiers Business School. Since 2004 he has been working as Project Manager - Direct Marketing Manager for NORD FRANCE INVEST, the Investment Promotion Agency for Lille Region. NORD FRANCE INVEST is charged with promoting the Lille Region solutions for the development of internationally mobile investments and assisting foreign companies in all the steps of their investment projects in Lille Region. It is the 3rd region in France for inward investment, Lille Region welcomes Irish leaders such as Kerry Ingredients, Ingersoll Rand, Kingspan, Smurfit Kappa to name a few. The Lille Region is a major hub for food and nutrition companies, home to major actors such as Tate & Lyle, Roquette, Coca – Cola, Häagen Dazs, Cargill, Mondelez.
Capucine Maës - Deputy Development Director, Nutrition Health & Longevity (NHL) Cluster
Capucine studied Nutrition and Health at Lasalle Beauvais, a specialist institution in the areas of Nutrition, Health and Agrifood. I graduated as a nutritionist in 2005. Since 2006, she has been working in the Nutrition Health Longevity Cluster. From 2006 to 2013, she was a nutrition and agrifood Project Manager where she was responsible for collaborative projects between academia and private companies. In addition, she developed the network of members and also designed the concept of key events such as Nutrevent. In 2013, she became Deputy Development Director of the NHL Cluster. My role consists of managing the development team, promoting the Cluster and its members and increasing membership. I also research, develop and initiate projects.
Emmanuelle Cousin – Project Manager, Nutrevent
Following a Masters degree in Business and Science, Emmanuelle started to work as an international marketing officer at Eurasanté, the economic development agency dedicated to the health sector in Northern France. Part of her job was to advise companies in their strategic development abroad, identify business opportunities and provide market analysis. After a 4-year experience, Emmanuelle moved to Eurasanté events department as a project manager and is now in charge of the promotion of NutrEvent, the international event dedicated to business & innovation in the field of Nutrition and Health (Lille, 17-18 June 2015)
