Industrial relocation

Moving production to their home countries enables a company to control the entirety of its production line, while controlling more effectively the uncertainties of supply chains. Further, it allows the company to limit transport costs and delays while benefiting from a generally more qualified and better trained labor force. One of the pillars of the “France Relaunch Plan”, an incentive for the relocation of pharmaceutical company activities, is demonstrated by the decision of the pharmaceutical company Sequens to build a new production unit for paracetamol in Isère.

The effectiveness of such relocation policies is well demonstrated by the results of their implementation in France: more than 90 companies decided to move their production sites in France in 2021, compared to around 10 before “France Relaunch” was implemented. this policy enables the identification of the critical sectors, including health, agri-food, energy, and defense, where France must control its own production and avoid dependence on other countries in order to address its own needs. In this way, it is a true opportunity for companies and territories.

What strategy should I implement to relocate my activities? Where and how should we start to de-risk by gradually rolling out this relocation? How can new partners be identified? What is this impact on my business? What public funding exists that is applicable to my project?

What strategic sectors should be prioritized? What possible levers can encourage this relocation? What are the expected competencies and trainings?

Moving production to their home countries is often synonymous with installing new production sites, creating local jobs, and the resulting economic impacts for the implicated region. The challenge for these regions is thus to define an “attractiveness strategy” to promote the movement of new players and relocation of activities to their region.

This can be done by promoting interactions within the local ecosystem (universities, researchers, partners, suppliers, etc.), providing quality infrastructure and equipment, and capitalizing on local know-how. An example of this is seen in the manner by which the “battery valley” in France came to be structured, with the building of 3 “giga-factories” in the region, accompanied by billions of euros of investments and the creation of tens of thousands of jobs.

We work with public and private players to identify large-scale projects and their opportunities by anticipating the upstream and downstream links in the value chain and the creation of value.

How can my economic development strategy be defined in a way that promotes the relocation of new projects to my region? What trainings and skill developments should be emphasized to make the region more attractive? Which large-scale industrial projects could lead to the creation of new markets and needs?

Relocation is also a ways for companies to limit their environmental impact by reducing the length of their production and distribution chain, as well as the associated CO2 emissions. In this sense, moving activities is one of the primary levers of the ecological transition. It’s in this manner that France’s “Banque des territoires” (bank of the territories) implemented the “industrial territories” program to offer help and fundings to territories to which companies decide to move, notably by investing in infrastructure and industrial property (digital and transport networks, rehabilitating brownfield land, delivery of turnkey sites, etc.).
We know that by finely analyzing a territory’s industrial sectors, we often identify challenges related to recycling co-products or wastes of certain industries into other sectors.

How can relocating my activities fit into my roadmap for reducing carbon emissions? What deployment and management tools can be used? What performance indicators can be used?

What tools should be made available by industry players to help them visualize possible strategies and their impact on reducing carbon emissions?