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Leading Edge Business Clusters
Crawley is a major commercial and industrial centre and the power house of West Sussex. Strategically located on the M23, many companies from a diverse range of sectors have centred their operations here, taking advantage of its young and growing population. Today there are around 1,900 businesses in Crawley, employing over 75,000 people, approximately one third of which commute into the town from the surrounding area.
Companies relocating to Crawley are able to take advantage of the impressive network of businesses offering potential joint venture opportunities, sources of supply or local sales. Potential trading partners with an established presence in Crawley include:
Airport & Airlines: Air Miles Travel Promotions Ltd, BAA plc, Continental Airlines, G.B Airways, Inflight Cleaning Services Ltd, Kamino Ltd, LSG Sky Chef, Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd, Virgin Holidays Ltd, Gate Gourmet Ltd
Electronics & Instrument Manufacture: KDG Instruments, Roband Electronics plc, Thales Communications Ltd, Thales Sensors, Mitsui Babcock Energy Ltd
Engineering: BOC Edwards, Heron Suzuki plc, Invensys APV, Invensys Process Systems, Telcon Ltd, Thermopol Ltd and Vent-Axia Ltd
Pharmaceuticals, Food & Medical Products: A & M Hearing Ltd, Elekta Oncology Systems, GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever Best Foods and Varian Medical Systems (UK) Ltd
Communication & Computer Technology: Motorola Information System Group, PCM Technologies Ltd, ROCC Computers Ltd, Tokyo Electron Europe Ltd and Tulip Computers UK plc
Financial Services: Major accountants and providers of financial services include: KPMG, Paymaster, Providian National Bank, Grant Thornton and Deloitte & Touche. The main high street banks also have regional offices and business support services in Crawley
Headquarters: In recent years there has been a noticeable increase in the number of companies establishing headquarters in Crawley or developing European distribution centres, reflecting its advantageous position in relation to home and overseas markets. They include Virgin Atlantic, Geco-Prakla, Unilever Best Foods, Tokyo Electron Ltd and A & M Hearing
Communications Hub
AIR Located in the borough, BAA London Gatwick Airport is the UKs second airport and in the top ten of the busiest international airports in the world. In 2001, London Gatwick topped the 32 million passenger mark through its South and North Terminals. As a major focal point of the local economy, the airport creates around 45,000 jobs and is greatly influential in attracting inward investment into the Crawley economy.
There are currently over 80 airlines operating out of Gatwick, serving over 200 global destinations. The airport is investing £980 million over the next decade in leading-edge facilities to help existing and new airlines to grow their business.
Both South and North Terminals have a wide range of places to eat, drink, shop and relax, both landside and airside. Gatwick also has two four star hotels; the Gatwick Hilton International and Le Meridien, both offering extensive conference facilities. ROAD Crawley is strategically located on the M23 motorway with three junctions putting businesses within a half hour's drive of London or Brighton and only 10 minutes from the M25 and the national motorway network. The M3 and M4 motorways are accessible within 45 minutes and 1 hours drive time respectively. The Channel Tunnel and ports at Dover and Portsmouth are just over one hour's drive. Newhaven for Dieppe, is just 40 minutes away.
RAIL Crawley Borough has four railway stations, including Crawley, Gatwick Airport, Ifield and Three Bridges. Destinations such as Victoria, Waterloo (for Eurostar), Charing Cross, London Bridge, Brighton, Portsmouth and many other important destinations on the south coast are within a journey time of under one hour.
The Gatwick Express takes just 30 minutes to reach London Victoria from Gatwick, whilst the City is less than 40 minutes away by Thameslink.
BUS & COACH Opening in 2003, and the first of its kind in the South East, Fastway is an integrated transport system that will be an 'intelligent', comfortable and efficient alternative to the private car.
Equipped with the latest 'smart' technology, it will give real-time passenger information and enjoy dedicated lanes and priority at traffic lights. It will operate a fast, frequent and reliable service between Gatwick and Crawley, covering key business, residential and retail areas.
