Nella Cutlery, a British companies specialised in Knife sharpening services and selling food processing equipment, is investing €400,000 and creating 10 jobs in the Hauts-de-France Region. They landed on a site in Calais that met all of their requirements in November 2022. This decision to have a footprint on EU soil was made in order to access their markets more easily.

About Nella Cutlery

Nella Cutlery was originally founded in 1901 in Italy to then settle in London. The business got passed on from generation to generation and it still, to this day, ran by their family after more than 120 years.  To this day, the company is chaired by Marc Nella. It is specialised in providing knife sharpening services as well as selling food processing equipment to a wide range of businesses such as restaurants. Nella Cutlery now has 200 employees and is considered UK’s leading knife sharpening service company and food processing equipment supplier.

Why did the company need to expand?

Marc Nella, Nella Cutlery’s current president was looking for a site to set-up its business near Calais, Lille or Dunkirk. The company has a great number of clients in France and was having difficulties accessing the French Market after Brexit.

To mention a few, new requirements such as the rules of origin, the EU VAT Reform of just tougher access to EU workforce have made life more difficult for British companies.

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What were the specifications?

Nella Cutlery needed:

• A site with a 300-to-400-square-meter workshop with an office area, a sectional door and an outdoor space
• Available immediately to start their operations as soon as possible
• A new, modern and renovated site available for purchase
• Located in an industrial park with a proximity to the Channel or Lille
• Near highways and with access to public transports

The Hauts-de-France: an obvious choice for the company

The Hauts-de-France Region is the UK’s closest continental neighbour. The Channel links the two nations in a very efficient and smooth way.

After studying multiple opportunities, a site in Calais that met all of their expectations was chosen with:

• A strategic location with smart transport infrastructures
• A dynamic ecosystem
• Access to talent and skills

The added value of Nord France Invest in that project

The project was initiated with Nord France Invest in March 2022, and the site-choice was confirmed in November,2022. Overall, the company was up and running in less than a year.

Nord France Invest mobilised their partners to find a site as quickly as possible and Christelle Rondel, a Project Director at Nord France Invest guided throughout the whole process.

There were some difficulties because the company is British, but it was licensed in France, Paris. As such, assistance during administrative processes was necessary. The company wanted to have its headquarters in Calais but keep an entity in Paris. To facilitate this process, and open their main bank account in Calais, they were put in contact with our partners.