Respect of environment, diversity of the activities, development rate management : these are the mainstay of a strategy that has been kept for 35 years.

Plaine de l'Ain is the first international park in Europe that has been certified ISO 14001 and has been recorded EMAS ( Eco-Management and Audit Scheme ).

1 RESPECT OF ENVIRONMENT

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING ISO 14001 CERTIFICATE ?
Interview with Inès QUINTY - Environment engineer, Plaine de l'Ain

« What is the point of applying the environment approach in the Plaine de l'Ain Industrial Park? »
IQ : The Environment Management system is a voluntary system, which commits us to improve continuously our environmental performance in long terms. It allows us to organise better all environmental actions following one methodology, it also allows to verify our environmental management by external experts and finally to recognise our environmental assets using an international label.

« What is the range of the first ISO 14001 certificate for the Plaine de l'Ain? »
IQ : ISO 14001 covers the following areas: planning and management of the park, reception and support for the companies, common equipment and spaces servicing, ecological monitoring and environmental promotion.

ENVIRONMENT : MOTIVATION AND HELP FOR ALL THE COMPANIES IN THE PARK

  • Important investment for creation of common services (purification station (1), draining network, ground water monitoring system…)
  • Creation of specific tools (inter-company audits, environmental meetings, HSE management teams « Health-Safety-Environment »)
  • Regular communication (environmental declarations, visits, publications, professional trade fairs)
  • Ecological impact studies
  • Space management control principle
  • Efficient and adapted signalling concept (2)
  • Pooled waste collection

ARCHITECTURE : THE CHOICE OF THE HARMONY

  • Architecture quality bias
  • Architecture advice and expertise
  • Integration space respect requirement
MORE DETAILS
  • Plaine de l'Ain Industrial Park puts the advice and the expertise of a landscape architect and an architect-colourist at disposal of the companies that want to set-up on its site. Their only concern is to ensure the continuity in the harmony and they give to the companies some comments on the architecture and the landscape.
    The will to fit in well the buildings with the existing natural frame and to respect the coherence between forms and colours on the site is the key point of the environmental approach used by the Industrial Park.
    Forms, colours, lights and materials create a perfect harmony that makes attractive the entire landscape layout of the Park. It respects both environment and people.
    The buildings of ND Logistics, Luoman, Schappe and Feu Vert are some of the remarkable examples of this approach of landscape integration.

LANDSCAPE POLICY

  • Landscape artist advice and expertise
  • Aesthetically pleasing quality of plantation
  • High quality life environment provided by large woodlands spaces
  • Planted mound principle (3)
MORE DETAILS
  • The green spaces are the visible part of the environment management of the Plaine de l'Ain Industrial Park. They are the basis for the quality of the living environment for the residents and the employees living and working in the Park and at the same time they give a corporate image for the companies in the Park. It is a real green frame that marries natural area and landscape. It guarantees homogeneity and harmony of the site.
    The natural vegetation (oak woods, hedged farmland…) is preserved, looked after and restored if needed.
    In the frames of a new constituent of the reconstitution programme for the hedged farmlands, which was launched in close collaboration with the Federation of the Hunters from the Department of Ain, a hedged farmland (height- 1.5m) will be planted so as to mark out the South borders of the Plaine de l'Ain Park.

    Based on the studies on the local wildlife and flora and physicochemical analysis of the soil, 10,000 plants were chosen in order to form a new landscape element. It represents an important investment of 55,000 €.
    The green public and private spaces that are part of the landscape (the protecting "green islands" for the residents, the road sides clearing, the planted mounds …) is subject of studies performed by a landscape artist who assists the Plaine de l'Ain staff.
    The 450 000 trees, which have been planted on nearly 200 hectares, create a protection screen both for the nearby villages and companies. They draw a friendly landscape that is brightened up with some tables and benches with free access for everybody.
    Actually the 30 hectares of pine trees, which have been planted in 1979, are subject of some activities that will adapt them for some broad-leaved trees. They have been chosen for their better protection qualities.
    The upkeep of the green spaces requires on the whole three full time landscape gardeners as well as many trainees.

The environment criteria are taken into account form the very first contacts with the companies-candidates.

The possible impact on the environment that a company-candidate could represent is analysed during the kick-off commercial meeting.
Depending on the risk level the administration authorities, which provide technical assessment, work in close collaboration with the elected local representatives in order to take into account their opinion. This approach aims to create a climate of confidence between industrialist, administration and local population. This preventive action guarantees a long-term setting-up for the companies.

Download the Environmental Declaration on line

2 DIVERSITY AND ACTIVITITES

Over 125 companies already established : small and medium sized companies & industries / automated production / R&D / logistics.

PRESTIGIOUS COMPANIES HAVE ALREADY CHOSEN PLAINE DE L'AIN

UNILEVER - UF HPC SI, BARILLA France (Harry’s), PLASTIC OMNIUM - SIGNMATECH, GRAHAM PACKAGING EUROPE, BIOMERIEUX, MERIAL, BASF Pharma, HAYWARD POOL EUROPE, FEU VERT, ND CS, GEODIS LOGISTICS, GEFCO (PSA group), TREDI, SPEICHIM PROCESSING, ALLARD EMBALLAGES, LSL INTERSPORT group, M.R. LOGISTIQUE, CIRA-SIMGAM (AMAURY group), AUXINE LOGISTIC (Botanic), LOGIDIS COMPTOIRS MODERNES (Carrefour), VENTE-PRIVEE.COM, LUOMAN, PROMENS, ORAPI…

Quatre grands pôles d'activité

Since its conception in 1975 the Plaine de l'Ain Industrial Park has chosen the diversity. It welcomed companies with different size and sector of activities so that to offer a wide range of jobs to the local population.
Plaine de l'Ain Industrial Park is structured around four sectors of activities spread out in specified geographical areas.

  • Logistics,
  • Industrial sector, which groups together production activities,
  • Medium-sized companies and industries with various activities,
  • Service sector with Research and Development activities

Logistics activities

The laying out of the Plain de l'Ain Industrial Park responded to the evolution of the logistics companies by the means of:


  • A working programme and equipment for the logistics centre: Within two years 2.3 million € were invested in the creation of one platform of 80 Ha.
  • Construction of 1,500 m of road network as well as a km of a railway track.
  • Plantation of more than 10,000 trees and shrubs in order to create mounds that are part of the landscape planning of the logistics centre.

Plaine de l'Ain Industrial Park meets the requirements of the biggest logistics companies such as LSL Intersport, Géodis Logistics, ND Logistics, Feu Vert, Gefco (Groupe PSA), Samada, Biomérieux, Logidis Comptoirs Modernes (Carrefour), Vente-privee.com, Eberhardt and Rexel which are established on the site. 500,000 sqm of logistics operations built on 180 hectares provide 1,650 jobs. In addition there are 100,000 sqm that remain to be constructed.
Beyond these projects Plain de l'Ain Industrial Park has decided to make a break concerning the opening of new land for the logistics sector, which is part of its strategy of diversification.

Production activities


  • Automated production (Unilever – UF HPC SI, Monnet-Sève, Barrila France (Harry's),Saint-Gobain Weber France (Maxit)…),
  • Textile (Alberti, Maire Solutions Textiles, 2B Broderie, Schappe …),
  • Chemistry (Tredi, Speichim Processing) and pharmaceutical sector (BASF Pharma),
  • Packaging activities or medium sized production companies (SPI, La-Co industries Europe, Soudal, Hayward Pool Europe …),
  • Plastic materials processing (Promens)


According to their needs and expectations, these companies are set up following precise environmental and technical criteria, which could change in the frames of time and space depending on the land options.

Small and medium sized companies

The small and medium sized companies are established on a surface of 5,000 m2 on 2 Ha.
Several rental buildings were built for some of these companies. There is some other in project for 2011-2012.

Plaine de l'Ain Industrial Park favours setting up of medium sized companies, which create an economic dynamism that encourages exchanges with the nearby industrial environment.

Rental building for tertiary activities of services, with or without workshop, have been built in 2010 to welcome small and medium companies. Both alternatives based on High environmental quality norms.

Service sector - Research and Development

Faithful to its diversity objectives Plaine de l'Ain Industrial Centre intends to open for the service sector and to attract mainly companies working mainly in the research field. The recent arrival of PLASTIC OMNIUM - SIGMATEC and the clinical research of MERIAL proves that this process has already begun.

In July 2002 PLASTIC OMNIUM Division Auto Extérieur et Environnement acquired 10 hectares and relocated its Research and Development centre in the Plaine de l'Ain. Most of the 360 research engineers came from the sites in Langres (Haute-Marne) and Oyonnax (Ain).
MERIAL (Pharmaceutical Industry) located one part of its research activities in the Plaine de l'Ain. The site, which was set up twelve years ago, employs more than 100 people.
The company built new premises of about 15,000 m2 for its activity of veterinary research.
The strategic geographic position of the Park as well as it's planning based on the environmental quality has won over MERIAL managers.

3 DEVELOPMENT RATE MANAGEMENT

We choosed to place all on the diversity of the activities in order to multiply the jobs for the local population as well as on the industrial development rate management so as to preserve the balance of the local jobs, lodging and local infrastructures. Plaine de l'Ain Industrial Park spreads on more than 900 hectares. Today there are over 125 companies that occupy 330 hectares from the land. They employ directly 4,500 people..