Accessibility

"Customers can get in and out easily from anywhere in Europe."
Tom Little, CEO, VisualSonics

Proximity to customers

Ask any North American company one of the main reasons why they put their European Headquarters here, and they'll tell you - proximity to their customers.

The Netherlands is located in the center of the three largest economies in Europe:  Germany, the UK and France.  Access to major commercial and industrial centers, such as London, Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt and the Ruhr Valley is just a few hours' drive from Amsterdam.

And the Netherlands' dense, high-quality transportation infrastructure offers fast connections no matter how you're traveling - air, road or rail.

Schiphol Airport

"We consider Schiphol to be the finest airport in Europe. Very easy to get in and out of major cities across the world." Bill Koehl, VP & GM, BMC Software, Inc.
 

One of the Netherlands key transportation assets is Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.  It has been voted Europe's best airport more than 20 times by readers of Business Traveller magazine, and has won more than 100 international prizes for its excellent level of services and handling of passenger traffic.

It offers service to some 2000 international destinations -- with more than 200 direct flights to 82 countries -- and smoothly handles 10.2% of Europe's passengers.

Another advantage is that Schiphol is only 15 minutes by train from Amsterdam's center and can be reached by car within an hour and a half from all major Dutch cities. 

Road and rail

The Netherlands is served by a dense and sophisticated network of highways and secondary roads which also offers access to international roads across Europe.  The Netherlands is always upgrading its transportation systems and to that end has allocated substantial budget (about $49 billion, or 6% of the GDP) to keep traffic flowing smoothly during rush hour in traffic-heavy areas.

The railroad system in the Netherlands is ultramodern and efficient, too. Businesses enjoy fast connections to cities throughout the European Union on cars that are renowned for their cleanliness, speed, safety and on-time arrivals. In addition, high-speed passenger service now links Amsterdam and Rotterdam to France, Belgium, Germany, and via Eurostar connection to London.