At the end of September and the beginning of October a delegation from the Province of Liege headed by its Governor Paul Bolland, made an official visit to Canada. During the visit, the delegation was welcomed by the mayors of Montreal, Sherbrooke and Quebec and held talks with the Minister of International Relations and the Deputy-Minister of Science, Research and Technology of Quebec. At the same time, representatives of SPI+ held talks with, among others, the President and members of the Council of the Montreal International Association and the President of the Quebec Chamber of Commerce, as well as with their counterparts of the Estrie and Quebec regions. Following the visit, two Canadian companies have already made a reconnoitring expedition to Liege: It concerns DBM Reflex, a manufacturer of optical systems for the automotive industry, and Prosys, a computer manufacturer. 

Staples Inc. invests in the Province of Liege and creates 180 new jobs

The American office material distributor Staples Inc. has decided to establish itself in Belgium. with a view to managing its operations in Europe. In the Province of Liege, Staples will open a call centre in a commercial complex that will be ready in May 2000. The total investment is Euro 3 million (USD 3.4 million) and should contribute to the creation of about 180 new jobs in the region. Staples opted for Liege for various reasons and confirmed that the International Relations Department of SPI+ had played a decisive role in their choice. In particular, the multilinguism of the inhabitants of the German speaking community in the Province and the proximity to Germany are important elements in their decision. Worldwide Staples employs 44,000 people and the group owns about 1,000 retail shops, with a turnover of Euro 1.6 billion (USD 1.84 billion) in 1998.