With almost 15,000 companies in the Valenciennes area, its economic fabric is made up of numerous sectors, including 4 centers of excellence.
Innovative and Sustainable Mobility
In the heart of the Hauts-de-France region, France’s leading rail and automotive region, the Valenciennois has established itself as a center of excellence for sustainable mobility, ideal for hosting conferences and business events. The destination accounts for 70% of regional activity and 40% of the French rail industry. This is thanks in particular to Alstom, based in Petite-Forêt, the world’s leading rail manufacturer.
Valenciennes is home to a number of key players: Agence Ferroviaire Européenne, CERTIFER, RAILENIUM, Centre d’Essais Ferroviaires, and Alstom.
On the automotive side, Toyota’s plant in Onnaing produces over 200,000 vehicles a year, the majority of them hybrid models, supported by ARIA, a federation of 200 companies in the sector.
The technology park Transalley technology park brings together companies, researchers and training organizations to focus on innovative mobility, with modern infrastructures such as the GYROVIA track and the Institut des Mobilités Durables.
Easily accessible (freeway, TGV, airport, port), Valenciennes is a strategic destination for tomorrow’s mobility players.
Digital and university hubs
Valenciennes has established itself as a national leader in the digital, design and creative industries, with a wide range of courses and schools on offer.
With theUniversité Polytechnique des Hauts-de-FranceESAD (art and design) and the RUBIKA school (animation, video games, industrial design), located opposite the Cité des Congrès, the Valenciennes region offers a wide range of master’s degrees in digital creation and humanities. Over 1,000 specialized students are trained each year.
Les Rives Créatives is a center of excellence that brings together key players such as Serre Numérique, Nouvelle Forge and Rubika, as well as infrastructures dedicated to research, entrepreneurship and training. POP School is also present here, and has been awarded the Grande École du Numérique label, offering practical training in web development, cybersecurity and UX design.
Valenciennes is a complete, creative and forward-looking digital ecosystem.
Industrial transition and low-carbon logistics
Valenciennes Métropole is at the heart of major European flows, enabling it to rely on sustainable, connected, high-performance logistics to serve its industrial sectors.
With the multimodal port of Bruay-Saint-Saulve, the leading river port in the Hauts-de-France region, and the Escaut Valenciennes terminal, equipped with the largest gantry crane north of Paris, the metropolis efficiently links river, road, rail and sea routes, all the way to Antwerp and Rotterdam (8 links/week).
Designed to optimize flows and land use, this logistics strategy promotes modal shifts and the competitiveness of local companies (Toyota, PSA, La Redoute…), and places employment and eco-responsibility at the heart of its projects.
The metropolis also supports the emergence of innovative sectors such as Green Tech and the Social and Solidarity Economy, consolidating a sustainable and diversified economic model. In 2014, Valenciennes was awarded the “La French Tech” label.
Valenciennes Hospital
Although not yet considered a center of excellence, the Centre Hospitalier can be described as a hospital of excellence. With 1,850 beds, over half of which are in surgery, medicine and obstetrics, it is one of the most generous hospital centers in France.
In 2022, it was awarded “High Quality Care” certification with distinction by the French National Authority for Health (HAS). Increasingly committed to CSR, the hospital is setting an example in many areas.
With its clusters of excellence, Destination Valenciennes is establishing itself as a new conference destination, at the heart of Europe’s major industrial and technological transitions.
The Cité des Congrès Valenciennes and the Valenciennes Tourist Office welcome you to its territory and help you organize your national convention.