Twenterand

The youngest business park in entrepreneurial Twenterand, Oosterweilanden, covers 21 hectares and is still under development. It has high sustainability ambitions. Companies that settle here can qualify for environmental subsidies via an environmental points system. The Almelo-De Haandrik canal and the Overijssels canal also provide connections for shipping up to 700 tonnes.

Sustainability is an important topic for entrepreneurial Twenterand. Intensive consultations between entrepreneurs, the municipality, residents and other interested parties have resulted in the ‘Samen Duurzaam Doen’ (Being sustainable, together) agenda. It expresses ambitions at all levels and indicates how the community intends to achieve these ambitions together.

Twenty per cent of energy must come from renewable sources by 2020. Business parks and companies receive help in their search for sustainable energy and ways to save energy. Construction companies are using projects to stimulate circular construction. Agricultural companies set up initiatives regarding sustainable food production and responsible manure processing.

An up-to-date view of entrepreneurial Twenterand with background information on business activity and sustainability can be found on the dashboard of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten, VNG):

• Economic activity in Twenterand
• Sustainability in Twenterand

Twenterand consists of the villages Den Ham, Vriezenveen, Vroomshoop and Westerhaar-Vriezenveensewijk, as well as five hamlets. The number of inhabitants is approximately 34,000.

For more information, check out:

• The Municipality of Twenterand
• Business association Bedrijven Belangen Vriezenveen (Business interests Vriezenveen, BVV)
• Industrie Kring Vroomshoop en Omstreken (Industry Circle Vroomshoop and its environs, IKVO)
• General business interest Westerhaar-Vriezenveenschewijk

Twenterand is located in the north of Twente, near the border with Germany. The area has a unique landscape as a result of its history as a peat district. The Engbertdijkvenen near Vriezenveen, which covers more than a thousand hectares, is now a protected nature reserve because of its rare flora and fauna.

International trade in the 18^th century

The history of entrepreneurship in Twente rand does not only consist of the peat diggings that attracted many people here at the end of the nineteenth century. Vriezenveen’s traders already demonstrated their unique entrepreneurial spirit in the eighteenth century. They went to Russia to trade and even founded trading houses and shops in St. Petersburg. The Russian Revolution in 1918 brought an end to this. The memory of these global ‘Rusluie’ (these traders) is kept alive with studies, literature and a museum.

Frontrunner in waste separation

Twenterand is one of the frontrunners in waste separation. Much of the household waste is recycled. The inhabitants are enthusiastic about this. They can also check a ‘solar map’ to see what (climate) benefits they can achieve with their own home if they want to make their homes more sustainable.

For more information, check out:

• Twenterand for tourists