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90 day
hit totals 33,437
BUSINESS
AND INDUSTRY
DUTCHMAN
TO HEAD RWE
[BIZ:
Essen,
May 30]
The Supervisory Board of RWE AG, the Rhine-Westphalian multi-utilities
company that is very active internationally, has elected Mr Harry Roels
(53) as Chairman of the Executive Board, effective from February 1 2003.
Mr Roels, a graduate in physical chemistry from the University of Leiden,
has had a 30 year international career with the Royal Dutch Shell Group
and has been a member of the Board of Management there since 1999,
responsible for Group Strategy and Planning, most recently for the gas
and power business in which RWE is extremely active.
http://www.rwe.com
ROYAL
WARRANT FOR DSM
[BIZ:
Heerlen,
May 29]
Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has decided to award the
Royal Warrant, the prefix of the word Royal or Koninklijke, to
DSM N.V. in Heerlen to mark its centenary. The Governor, Baron van
Voorst tot Voorst, handed the certificate attaching the Royal Warrant to
the Company on the morning of the 29th at a special Company breakfast.
The Province of Limburg has three other companies with this royal
prefix, Koninklijke Sphinx N.V, Koninklijke Mosa N.V. and Koninklijke
Frans Maas N.V. The warrant requires the company to be a leader in
its field and preferably also to play an international role.
http://www.limburg.nl
WALLOON
BUSINESS TAX BURDEN REDUCED
[BIZ:
Wavre,
May 29]
The Walloon government has frozen indexation of the tax base on plant
which is a first step in the direction of tax relief on business
investment. The decision relates to more than 12,000 businesses in
the Walloon region with plant above EUR 10,000 in value. The
threshold level at which investment becomes taxable has also been raised
from EUR 10,000 to EUR 50,000. The Walloon system of taxation on
investment has put the region at a disadvantage in respect of
neighboring countries such as Germany, France, Luxembourg and the
Netherlands.
http://www.uwe.be
LOOKING
FOR A PARTNER
[BIZ:
Maastricht,
May 28]
If you are looking for a business partner in the European SME market,
the place to be is in the City of Dortmund at the Westfalen Hallen on
June 24 and 25 this year, where a special SME fair will be held,
bringing together 1500 SMEs from all over Europe. During these two
days, local companies and visiting companies will have the opportunity
to discuss future partnership options with other small and medium-sized
businesses in the European Union. The project is managed by
EuroPartner NRW 2002, a part of the North-Rhine Westphalian business
development company GFW. They are available at the links
below. There are 20 million SMEs in the EU, they provide 66% of
total employment: that is work for 80 million people. Average
company size is 4 and they produce 55% of the gross domestic product.
The largest percentage of small and medium-size business is occupied by
the micro component which accordingly means fewer than 10 employed.
These businesses form 93% of the EU total.
http://www.europartner-nrw.com
NEW
CAT CRACKER FOR SABIC
[BIZ:
Heerlen,
May 28]
Saudi Basic Industries, which are taking over DSM's petrochemical
operations for USD 1.8bn, recorded a net profit of USD 81.06m in
2002. It has also been reported that they want to build a new
catalytic cracker at the Geleen plant in South Limburg.
http://www.webcontentnow.com
INTERNAL
STRUCTURES
[BIZ:
Aachen,
May 28]
The Aachen development company, AGIT, held a colloquium on May 13 on
alternative paths to growth for young technology-based businesses.
Among the factors regarded as important were the innovative strength of
the company and the internal structures of the business which should
grow with it. These include the development of quality management,
good and motivating human resources management, knowledge management and
a targeted development structure for the business. Questions on
this topic can be directed to h.coskun@agit.de
http://www.agit.de
LIOF
TAKES A STAKE IN comtree
[BIZ:
Maastricht,
May 28]
The Heerlen company Comtree is going to expand. Comtree was one of
the 25 companies which received a special start-up grant from LIOF in
the year 2000 and now it functions as a call-center for clients, ranging
from local SMEs to large international companies. LIOF is taking a
25% stake in its share capital which will give the company the
opportunity to expand. The business is located in LIOF's
Technohouse in Heerlen and has 40 operational work stations at its
disposal.
http://www.liof.nl
MOVES
AT NEDCAR
[ind:
Born,
May 25]
Executive Vice President, Kuniaki Taira of NedCar will be leaving to
return to his home company Mitsubishi Motors on June 25 and Mr Koji
Funino will be appointed Managing Director of NedCar effective
June 1. Until a new Chief Executive Officer is appointed, Hein van
Gerwen will take over the duties of the retiring Presidents Chris Dewulf
and Kuniaki Taira. Mr van Gerwen is currently General Manager of
Plant Operations and Projects.
http://www.nedcar.nl
VOLVO's
successes
[IND:
Born,
May 25]
In
April the NedCar
team won the VCC Quality Award in Gothenburg, Sweden. Unfortunately
the Volvo S40's and V40's which were the best selling Volvo models
worldwide in 2001 and made at NedCar will be moving on to another
production location when Volvo parts company with NedCar.
http://www.nedcar.nl
LIOF
RESULTS
[biz:
Maastricht,
May 24]
The Limburg development company, LIOF, presented its
annual report to the press in Maastricht and revealed it had had an
excellent financial year with a consolidated net profit of EUR 6.272.486
against EUR 4.175.146 in the year 2000. This profit was a result
of the sale of financial interest in companies and real estate, in
addition to income from dividends and interest. LIOF participated
in 10 existing businesses and 6 start-ups in this period investing EUR
5.7m. It concluded its participation in 10 others. These
transactions produced a profit of EUR 9.5m. Its stake-holding
portfolio included 72 companies at the end of 2001. To allow for
unforeseen circumstances, LIOF provided itself with reserves of EUR 5.2m
as against EUR 3.3m in the year 2000. Seven investment projects were
started up in 2001. An estimated EUR 25m is to be invested and 130
new jobs created. There is also a new life science focus at LIOF; 9
businesses received EUR 200,000 for innovation and the jubilee IT
project, Start 25, which provided 25 starters with the sum of EUR 45,000
each as seed capital was concluded. The result was that, of the 24
companies that started, 16 were still in business and LIOF had taken a
financial stake in 3 of them. On the business park front, LIOF
invested EUR 11.8m. LIOF was also determined to pursue
Euroregional goals and hoping in the near future with partners from
Belgium and Germany to make cross-border investments.
http://www.liof.nl
NEW
WAREHOUSE FOR JANSEN PRODUCTS
[BIZ:
Meeuwen,
May 22]
Jansen Products has started construction of a 2,560m2 warehouse,
an investment of EUR 400,000, which will come into service at the end of
the summer holiday. This follows an investment of EUR 600,000 in
expanding production which means that the company has doubled its
production capacity. The investment will also mean 8 additional
jobs. The company, with six partners, is part of the Jansen Holding
Company and 90% of its revenues, EUR 9.3m in 2001, come from the
production of raised floor systems. 60% of production is for
export. The company has the most modern production line for raised
floor systems in Europe with a capacity of 1.2m m2 per year,
and they export to 20 different countries.
http://www.vkwlimburg.be
GLOBAL
NETWORK FOR TESSENDERLO
[BIZ:
Tessenderlo,
May 14]
The
Tessenderlo chemical Group has extended and enhanced its contract
with Infonet, a California based provider of global communications for
multinationals, to build a global network to support the company's
customer-focused business strategy and international expansion.
Tessenderlo is using Infonet's Application-Defined Networking approach
to prioritize access to the centralized applications on a SAP Enterprise
Resource Planning system. Infonet has managed international data
communications for Tessenderlo and its subsidiary, LVM (Limburgse Vinyl
Maatschappij), which is amongs the top European PVC manufacturers.
http://www.infonet.com
TYING
UP ROCKWOOL
[BIZ:
Roermond,
May 13]
TIE Belgium, a subsidiary of Dutch TIE Holding, a B2B
integration software company, has won an order from Rockwool Benelux to
connect Rockwool’s business processes to those of its clients. The
Rockwool Group is a manufacturer of Rockwool. Rockwool has more
than 20 factories in Europe, North America, and East Asia, and a global
network of sales companies, trading offices, and commercial partners.
Rockwool Benelux Holding covers the production, marketing and sales
activities in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The
company employs more than 1300 and has annual revenues in excess
of EUR 220 million.
http://www.rockwool.be>
MORE
MONEY FOR FORD
[IND:
Genk,
May 13]
Ford Genk, is to receive EUR 50 million from the
Flemish government to aid its restructuring plan, according to financial
daily De Financieel-Economische Tijd.
http://www.ford.be
LOGISTICS
AND INFRASTRUCTURE
MEDIA
IN MEUSE-RHINE
[INF:
Eijsden,
May 30]
Meuse-Rhine
coverage is increasing slowly but surely in the region's press.
After a long start-up, period Grenz Echos newsletter, Netecho,
is now arriving daily on the desktop bringing with it BRF Eupen's
excellent news service and updates on Formula 1 activities and much else
from the German-speaking Region. Absoluut Limburg, a
new venture by Bert Salden, is carrying his colors across the border to
embrace Belgian Limburg with a heavyweight new glossy. Niveau
Euregio Magazine is busy developing new and revolutionary plans and Dagblad
de Limburger is making creditable efforts in its new coverage of Liège
by exchange correspondent, Casper Cillikens, who is providing coverage
different from the customary one paragraph report on the latest sordid
crime stories in the Principality. His most recent article focused
on Liège as a regional distribution hub, taking in the port, where
there is to be a major new investment, the airport and the new TGV
station.
http://www.webcontentnow.com
LIGHT
TRAIN HUB FOR HEERLEN
[INF:
Heerlen,
May 30]
During
a visit of the President of the Dutch Railways, Mr Noordzij,
Heerlen's ambition to become the Euroregional hub for light trains was
discussed. In the first instance they are talking about 15 minute
services between Sittard, Maastricht, Kerkrade and Heerlen.
http://www.heerlen.nl
TOP
TUNNEL IN LIEGE
[INF:
Liège,
May 30]
The
German automobile club ADAC has been inspecting tunnels Europe-wide,
more than 30 in 12 different countries, and has awarded the designation
"very good" to the Cointe tunnel at the edge of Liège built
by Sofico, putting it in the first class of European tunnels and very
close to the ideal. The tunnel opened in June 2000, is 1.6km long
and has two tunnels with interconnections every 200m for emergency
services. The top speed is 80kmh and the whole stretch is
monitored by video cameras.
http://www.aachener-zeitung.de
BELGIANS
RESIST DUTCH BORDER PLANS
[INF:
Eupen,
May 25]
Dutch
plans to reserve roads in the the tri-border area for pedestrian traffic
are meeting opposition from their Belgian neighbours who feel that this
will damage the tourist trade. The Municipality of Bleyberg is
particularly upset that the Dutch regulations were implemented without
consultation, particularly in an area where there is generally
cooperation on the tourist front. The Belgians also feel that
their position is given added strength by a Treaty with the Netherlands
dating from 1843 which prohibits this type of unilateral action.
They sent a letter to the Dutch Province of Limburg on May 21 describing
the consequences for the Belgian municipalities and requested that four
of these minor roads, including the Drielandenpunt, should be
exempted from the proposal.
http://www.netecho.info
L1
TV in the north
[INF:
Maastricht,
May 22]
The
Limburg local television station L1 will soon be available in North
Limburg's Mook and Middelaar. Connection will be via UPC fiber
optic cable from the Essent local center in Gennep which runs to Mook
and Middelaar. Investment is estimated at EUR 27,000 of which L1
will be paying EUR 10,000 and the municipality EUR 6,000. The
Province will contribute EUR 4,000.
http://www.limburg.nl
EUR
3 MILLION FOR MAASTRICHT
[INF:
Maastricht,
May 22]
The
interim government has allocated EUR 3 million to Maastricht in the
context of its big city policy (GSB), EUR 1.8m goes to the Belvédère
project relating to the improvements in the infrastructure of the
Maastricht harbor area including upgrading the old historic waterway
between Maastricht and Flanders. EUR 1.3m will go towards social
integration of projects in the city.
http://www.limburg.nl
KLM
EXEL expands capacity
[LOG:
Maastricht, May]
KLM Exel has increased the
capacity of its London scheduled flights by taking an ATR 42-320
aircraft into service on its London route. This increases the
capacity by more than 50%. The ATR 42-320 flies 4 times daily to
Amsterdam and 3 times daily to London. With its wide cabin, this
French-built aircraft is considered the most comfortable turbo-prop in
its class. It takes just over an hour to get to London.
http://www.klm.exel.nl
PFSwEB'S
EUROPEAN FULFILMENT
[LOG:
Liège,
May]
PFSweb B.V., located in the Liège Logistics industrial
zone, offers a suite of services to companies interested in developing
new or additional B2B and B2C strategies. These services include:
fulfilment (pick, pack, and shipment of goods, light assembly, outbound
carrier management, and returns processing), multi-language customer
services (call center, email, and technical support), and financial
services (online payment support, invoicing, credit and collections, and
VAT administration). PFSweb provides comprehensive supply chain
management, e-commerce, and distribution and logistics solutions for
several blue-chip/Fortune 500 companies. Throughout its warehousing,
fulfilment, customer care, and E-commerce solutions, PFSweb uses leading
edge technologies and processes to ensure its clients' success. The
PFSweb distribution center is 14,000m² of new warehouse space,
conveniently situated near three major highways, a high-speed rail and
rail cargo link and Liège airport.
http://www.pfsweb.com/main.html
GOVERNMENT
AND EDUCATION
MANAGEMENT
TEAM AT THE PROVINCE
[GOV:
Maastricht, May 28]
The Limburg provincial parliament has decided to appoint Fred Offerein
as Director of the Province of Limburg, effective June 1. Mr
Offerein (43) is currently head of the Department of Special Planning
and Coordination at the Province. He will be joining the new
management team which comprises Liesbeth Brans, director general and Wim
Weijnen, director. The management team is responsible for the
development of a responsive and dynamic provincial organization.
Mr Offerein, who is a graduate in physical geography, entered the
provincial service in 1988 and is currently running the Grensmaas project
among other things.
http://www.limburg.nl
AACHEN
AT THE VENICE BIENNALE
[EDU: Aachen, May 28]
Aachen's RWTH University will take part in the International
Architectural exhibition, which is part of the Venice Biennale from
September 8 thru November 4.
http://www.aachener-zeitung.de
REPORTING
CROSS-BORDER BUSINESS
[EDU: Maastricht, May 27 ]
The European Journalism Center held an important seminar in cooperation
with Europartners (NRW) on covering cross-border SMEs in Europe.
The role and economic significance of the SMEs was outlined by Rob van
der Horst, the Director of the European network for SME research.
There were discussions of cross-border cooperation in the context of the
European economic interest group. A discussion of the cordis
database and a talk on fast cost-effective routes to foreign markets by
Europartners' Eva Platz. On the second day of the conference Karl
Georg Doutlik, Head of Mission at the Enterprise Directorate General
also talked about the Commission's policy and its role in encouraging
cross-border cooperation. He made special reference to activities
underway in Meuse-Rhine referring to cooperative projects proposed by
the Chambers of Commerce.
http://www.ejc.nl
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise
http://www.eim.nl
DUTCH
TRADE SCHOOLS RECRUIT IN GERMANY
[EDU:
Roermond, May 24]
The Gilde Opleiding, the Dutch vocational education
institution, is recruiting German students. The organization which
has 12,000 students in 21 locations from the North to the South of
Limburg, offers secondary vocational education in Limburg. In mid
June it will be presenting its prospectus to schools in the Heinsberg
and Aachen region. The two programs targeting German students are recreation
and entertainment and wellness, fitness and beauty. The two
programs will be offered at the Fortuna football stadium in Sittard.
http://www.limburger.nl
BUSINESS
SCHOOL IN MAASTRICHT
[EDU:
Maastricht, May 23]
The University of Maastricht has established its own business school and
appointed an Economist, Mr Foppen, as its Director. Mr Foppen, who
comes from Maastricht, is thinking of a regional and Euroregional focus
for the institution. After service at the Rotterdam School of
Management from 1993 to 2000, Mr Foppen became Director of the famous
International Executive Center, Escade, in Barcelona. The official
name of the new institution will be the Graduate School of International
Management.
http://www.limburger.nl
EUPEN
LAWYER GETS TOP JOB
[GOV:
Eupen, May 22]
In the Banqueting Hall of the Brussels Palace of Justice the Eupen-born
Lawyer and Criminologist, Dr Serge Brammertz (40) assumed his new office
as the first Federal Procurator General in the history of Belgium.
http://www.netecho.info
NEW
HEAD FOR THE HOUSE OF SCIENCE
[EDU:
Liège, May
21]
Martine Jaminon, who has a PhD in physics, has been appointed Head of
the Maison de la Science, in Liège, which together with the
aquarium and the zoological museum on the Quai van Beneden provides
an educational resource center for the sciences.
http://www.ulg.ac.be
ENVIRONMENTAL
LAW IN THE WALLOON REGION
[GOV:
Liège, May 7]
New environmental legislation will enter into force at the end of
September 2002 for the Walloon region and the Agoria Liège-Luxembourg
in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Liège
will provide information on the new environmental permits on Wednesday
12 June between 10 and 12 hrs at the Agoria Centre d'Affaires, 191
Boulevard Emile de Laveleye in Liège. Information from ademoite@ccilg.be
http://www.ccilg.be
LIFE
SCIENCE AND SCI-TECH
DSM PRIZES
[LIFE-SCI: Heerlen, May
28]
The DSM Award for Chemistry and
Technology for 2002 (EUR 5,000) has been granted to:
Richard van Delden of Veendam for his research on photoactive
materials, controlling molecular chirality and motion carried out
at University of
Groningen and to Mrs Dominique de Seny of Liège for her research
on Metallo-beta-lactamases as an emerging Bacterial Resistance Factor to
Beta-lactam Antibiotics carried out at the University of Liège.
Richard van Delden has been working in the field of molecular switches,
molecular motors, liquid crystals and supramolecular assemblies. Key
element in his work is the search for molecules of which the chirality
can be controlled in a reversible way by irradiation with light.
He demonstrated the principle of an unidirectional molecular motor and
by combining these rotations on the molecular level with liquid
crystals, macroscopic changes could be observed. In this way, he was
able to translate the control on the molecular and the supramolecular
level into macroscopic functionalities. This is a real breakthrough in
the field of nanotechnology. He also developed a new method for fast
detection of chirality based on a simple color change. This method could
have a high impact on the fast screening method nowadays required in
combinatorial chemistry. By the careful analysis of the role of
the two Zinc ions in the catalytic functioning of the Metallo-enzyme
responsible for the degradation of beta-lactam antibiotics, using state
of the art analytic and molecular biology tools, Dominique de Seny
showed that both metal binding sites are vital for the functioning of
the enzyme.
http://www.dsm.com
http://www.chiral.com/description/research.htm
RHEIN BIOTECH MOVES
TO SWITZERLAND
[TECH: Rotterdam, May 25]
The Dutch NRC Handelsblad reports that the
Maastricht based life-sciences company specializing in the production of
vaccines has been sold to the Swiss company Berna Biotech for EUR 279m.
Among the vaccines that Rhein Biotech has been concerned with is the
anti-hepatitis B vaccine. Rhein Biotech will be moving its
headquarters from Maastricht to Switzerland. Berna Biotech, the
purchasers, offered EUR 68.5 per share to Rhein Biotech, a premium of
43% on the going rate.
http://www.nrc.nl
A COLD SLIDE
[TECH: Liège, May
22]
Liège, which is already a major center for
aerospace research is setting up a new cryotechnology center with a
focus on the sliding behavior of materials at cold temperatures.
For example, plastics on stainless steel. This is in response to
interest and concern on the French Ariane space project in which several
companies in Liège are involved. There will also be a conference on
propulsion technology in Liège at the Palais de Congrès between
3 - 5 December next, when 500 rocket scientists from all over the world
will be coming to the Principality.
http://www.ulg.ac.be
MORE ROCKET SCIENCE
FROM LIEGE
[TECH: Liège, May 22]
Orthodyne is a specialist in gas chromatography. This is a system
by which impurities in the gas content are detected and quantified to a
very high level of precision, one part per billion. The company
exports 95% of its production outside of the EU and their clients
include the steel semi-conductors, nuclear and aerospace industries.
Clients include Air Liquide, Air Products, BASF, Motorola, Posco Steel,
Texas Instruments, Coca-Cola and the Ariane rocket base in French
Guiana, where they are particularly concerned to determine the purity of
the hydrogen utilized in the Ariane rocket's fuel. This particular
contract is worth EUR 107,000. Revenues were EUR 1.5m in 1998 and
EUR 2.6m in 2001.
http://www.lalibre.be
FUEL CELL NEWS
[TECH: Liège, May 20]
The Fuel Cell Today Newsletter, reports that Ballard Power is going to
have to raise more money by 2004. Ballard plays a role in fuel
cell development in Liège and Aachen and among its 2002 goals are
completion of the next generation engineering prototypes of several
power generators and the Nexar module delivering heavy-duty-fuel-cell
engines to Daimler-Chrysler AG's (DCX) European bus program, delivering
fuel cells to California fuel cell partnership demonstrations and
electric drives and power converters to various customers.
http://www.fuelcelltoday.com
ANOTHER LIEGE
SPIN-OFF
[TECH: Liège, May 17]
Open Engineering, which calls itself the next generation in
multi-disciplinary virtual prototyping, is the 42nd spin-off company
from the University of Liège and a subsidiary of Samtech, another
spin-off from the same university. Its Oofelie toolkit,
which means object oriented finite element led by interactive
executer, is the product of 30 years of research by LTAS the Belgian
aerospace laboratories and INTEC Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnologico
par Industria Quimica in Argentina. Capitalized at EUR 257,000 with
Samtech holding 51%, Gesval s.a. and Spinventure s.a. 25% and by the
management with 24%, Open Engineering is going to position itself in a
range of international industrial markets, including aviation,
aerospace, construction, automotive and biomechanics, thanks to the
revolutionary characteristics of its Oofelie tool. Oofelie
offers entirely new prospects in the application of software and digital
calculation to prototyping. Problem areas addressed by Oofelie
are vibro-acoustic systems, piezoelectric systems, topological
optimization and continuous casting processes.
http://www.ulg.ac.be/press
EUROPEAN SPALLATION
NEUTRON SOURCE
[TECH: Bonn, May 16]
The European Spallation Neutron Source will provide a neutron beam a
hundred times brighter than present day neutron sources. Ten times
more powerful than the spallation sources currently under construction
in the USA and Japan. Material research, in particular, as well as
life sciences will benefit from a European spallation neutron source.
Neutrons are more than just constituents of atomic nuclei. As free
particles they are able to penetrate deep into matter, recognize light
atoms and interact with magnetic moments. As a result they become
ideal probes for researching the internal structure of materials and the
dynamics of molecules. They shape the technology of tomorrow and
help to improve life. The new proposed facility will operate 5500
hours per year and is expected to cost EUR 142m per year. The
importantance of this source to Meuse-Rhine is that the Juelich research
center is one of the candidates for this major new facility.
http://www.ess.press@lauk-cie.de
LIFE SCIENCE
BUSINESS AT UM
[LIFE-SCI: Maastricht, May 14]
On Wednesday June 5, the University of Maastricht Holding Company will
have its 10th anniversary with a special day for business. This
will be at the University's building on Universiteitssingel 40, on the
ground floor. In the context of the action plan for the life
sciences, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has established
BioPartner which is a new network designed to encourage and support
business activity in the life sciences. As a part of the action
plan, a number of organizations in Maastricht including the University
Holding Company, with the support of the ministry, will be running an
incubator. This is a building for life science start-up companies.
The building, which will be known as BioPartner Maastricht, will be
built in Randwijk as a new wing for the University Hospital complex.
At the meeting, the foundation stone for this center will be laid, it is
due to be completed in Spring 2004 and will have a total surface area of
6,000m2 . There will also be a program of lectures, which
will include a discussion of the life sciences platform in Limburg by
Fred Bollen. New developments in the life sciences will be
reviewed by Professor Rob Reneman and a range of other topics running
from 1330 in the afternoon to 1620 hrs will also be covered. There
will be guided tours of the labs and demonstrations. Areas of
focus will be human biology, the electronmicroscope, the genome center,
general surgery, movement science and instrumentation.
http://www.bhkt.umholding.nl
ELECTRIC LIMOS
FROM WARNY
[TECH: St Vith, April]
A little more than 5 years ago in 1996, Warny & Co GmbH, a
metalworking body shop company in St Vith, set up a project to develop
an environment and energy-friendly electric car.
The company’s new product, a world first, in the form of the
Warny F8919 electric limousine was presented officially to the public in
March. Among those present
were representatives of the Walloon region’s Research and Development
Ministry who had supported the St Vith project since its inception.
The cost of developing the F8919 was around EUR 1.74m of which
the Walloon region provided EUR 1.24m in the form of a subordinated
loan. http://www.warny.be.com
LEISURE
TRENCHERMAN's NOTES
[LEI: Eijsden, May 30]
As you would expect, the nacht van de euregionale journalistiek or
Euroregional journalism night, to make it even more of a mouthful, is a
kaleidoscope of images and other sensory impressions that are very
difficult to contain within a paragraph. 25 Euroregional
journalists, and their guests, met for their third annual meeting at Der
Bloasbalg in Wahlwiller. It may have been the addition of some
strange South American substance to the aperitifs, but magic mushrooms
could not have produced a more colorful effect. With Dutch and
Belgian politicians, a German Police Chief, pop singers, beauty queens,
an reincarnation of Edith Piaf (Chantal Câlin), a trumpet playing
business man, the watchful eye of the Governor and an exquisite repast,
crowned perhaps by some deliciously chunky turbot reposing calmly on a
bed of splendid white asparagus, accompanied by a Limburg Chardonnay
from Genoelselderen near Tongeren. Of course a good time was
had by all and those present were regaled by stories of a man who
appeared four times in the Guinness Book of Records, apparently as a
result of running marathons both round the top of Everest and at the
bottom of the Dead Sea, and still lived to tell the tale. Then
there was the beauty queen determined to revenge herself upon the press
and Nancy Deusings to soothe our troubled minds. Incidentally Liège was
represented in the form of a descendant of a nephew of one of the
greatest of the Prince Bishops (François-Charles de Velbruck,
1772-1784) in the form of the Count d'Ansembourg. The great
professional gifts of Louk Hustinx ensured that the evening went off
without an untoward incident and revealed that even when we all relax we
still need a stage manager.
http://www.me@webcontentnow.com
STOP-GAP AT THE
HALLE AUX VIANDES
[LEI: Liège, May 30]
During the major refurbishment involving the Arms Museum, Archeology and
Decorative Arts museums which will all be incorporated in the Grand
Curtious Museum of the Future, an exhibition is being held at the Halle
aux Viandes of 25 masterworks from the Liège collections. The
exhibition will be open to the public from June 14, Tuesday - Saturday
13.00 - 18.00hrs and on Sunday from 11.00 - 16.30hrs.
http://www/liege.be
EUPEN MUSIC MARATHON
[LEI: Eupen, May 30 ]
10,000 fans are expected in Eupen on Sunday July 7, where 35 rock bands
and orchestras of various types are expected. There will be 9
stages in the open air and a day of rock, pop, techno, folk, classical
music and jazz with attractions running from the Belgian singer Jeff
Bogard to the Belgian Cuban Mambo big band El Tattoo del Tigre.
http://www.aachener-zeitung.de
THE FASHION
CONSCIOUS CYCLIST
[LEI: Hasselt, May 29]
Hasselt's Modemuseum is holding an exhibition called the Mode Proloog
devoted to the cycling fashions. The exhibition at the Stedelijk
Mode Museum, Gasthuisstraat runs from June 8 thru December 29, Tuesday -
Sunday 10.00 -17.00 hrs. Hot pants, cold pants, the slim textile
and cycling pants designed by luminaries such as Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel,
Galliano for Dior, Moschino and Montana from the 80's will be on view.
You will also be able to acquire an exclusive cycling jersey from the
local fashion guru Stijn Helsen for EUR 37.
http://www.hasselt.be
http://www.modemuseumhasselt.be
THEATRE-GOING IN
MAASTRICHT
[LEI: Maastricht, May 27 ]
The Theater aan het Vrijthof, Maastricht's leading theatre
has published its program for the coming year. Information is
available on the web at www.theateraanhetvrijthof.nl
HEERLEN
NIGHTS
[LEI:
Heerlen,
May 26]
Although sitting in an open-sided tent while the rain drizzles down for
3 hours at night in the middle of Heerlen may not be everybody's idea of
a good night out, there is one exception. Believe it or not, it is
on the occasion of the Heerlen Military Tattoo. This is an
excellent opportunity for the military to escape ghettoization, it
certainly makes time pass quickly. The variety and choreography of the
marching bands is really rather refreshing in late May. This year
they included Russians from Perm in the Urals, whose high-crowned hats
gave them some sorely needed extra centimeters; and a splendid
Gurkha band whose flexed toe and calf muscle pause showed how the slow
march should really be done. Then there were the old Grenadiers
from Geneva, some of whom were, in fact, quite old and some, extremely
large, bore huge axes. The blanks that they fired also made people
look up and take notice. There was also a German mountain regiment
whose stretch pants and forage caps gave them quite a camp appearance
and a Swiss group and an American band boogied into the grandstands.
However, perhaps the best treat of all was the French Naval band from
Brest, in particular their conductor, Captain Claude Kesmaecker, who
looked very much like a reincarnation of Monsieur Hulot. Towering
above the band, with his huge white Mickey-Mouse-gloved hands, and great
leaps into the air, he soon banished all thought of rain from this
viewer.
http://www.taptoe-heerlen.org
ENGLISH
INTERACTION IN AACHEN
[LEI:
Aachen,
May 26]
Jan Niedojadlo will be holding an interactive exhibition at the Ludwig
Forum in Aachen from May 26 to August 18 which focuses on the organs of
sense, including the eyes, brain, heart and womb. This is clearly
intended to be a different approach to anatomy.
http://www.heimat.de/ludwigformum
ANNUAL
MARKET FOR KORNELIMüNSTER
[LEI:
Kornelimünster,
May 24]
There will be a traditional historical annual market in Kornelimünster
lasting 10 days in the historical center of the town. It will
include a fun fair, curiosities and antiquities from the large
collection of Mr Bernhard Paul, Director of the Roncalli circus.
There will be artists, magicians and many others in the market place.
http://www.roncalli.de
GASTRONOMIC STAR
SURVIVES IN AACHEN
[LEI: Aachen, May 22]
Maurice de Boer, the Michelin Star Director of the Gala restaurant at
the Aachen casino, which he left recently, will become the gastronomic
director of the 5 star Hotel Dorint Quellenhof in Aachen which means
that his talents can be retained for the city.
http://www.regioblick.de
MAASTRICHT SANTE
[LEI: Maastricht, May]
The Maastricht Wine-city Foundation is holding a special tasting of
California wine at the Dominican church in Maastricht on June 14, 15,
16.
http://www.vvvmaastricht.nl
THE LIMBURG PAVILION
[LEI: Maastricht, May]
The Limburg Pavilion at the Dutch flower show Floriade, opened in April
and is a joint effort of both Dutch and Belgian provinces of Limburg and
seems to contain almost everything that makes the province famous,
including asparagus, the Limburg Symphony Orchestra and provincial
politicians, Mr Sleypen from Belgian Limburg and Mr Evers from
Netherlands Limburg. Their newsletter, interestingly enough, is
published in Nijmegen.
http://www.vvvlimburg.nl
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