Right at the heart of an industrial area

The Village of Vergèze is wonderfully located on the edge of the top-rated tourist zone of Camargue, right in the middle of a wine district that produces a constantly improving variety of wines: Costières of Nîmes, Pic Saint-Loup, Muscat, red wines, rosé and white wines from different grape varieties.

Less known is the fact that Vergèze is located in the heart of a rural industrial area with important companies working in the sectors of mineral water, bottle manufacturing, animal feed, woven underwear, software publishing, agricultural research, plant protection…

Below is a list of companies located close to Vergèze that you could visit on business while staying at La Passiflore:

• Perrier (Nestlé Waters – Swiss): the only source in the world producing Perrier water is located in the town of Vergèze at a “the Bouillens”. Perrier is: 1650 employees, 400 million euros in turnover and two billion bottles a year.
• Verrerie du Languedoc (O-I – United States) bought August 1st 2011 by Owens Illinois a U.S. company, the glasswork plant has a capacity of 600 million bottles per year and it employs 130 employees.
• Royal Canin (French): Royal Canin’s international complex and its headquarters are located in Aimargues, facing the village of Gallargues. It specializes in feed and employs about 500 persons.
• Eminence (French company): French brand of high quality underwear with a hundred employees working in the town of Aimargues. It has an on-site factory outlet open to all, with very attractive prices.
• Syngenta (Swiss): Chemical plant, located in Aigues-Vives and employing 120 employees, a world leader in the crop protection and seeds market.
• Sakata (Japanese): centre of the global agricultural research and in the village of Uchaud, the company specializes in the selection, production and marketing of seeds. It employs 90 employees.
• Eurofins (French) This biotech group is among the world’s leading providers in the field of analytical services and expertise of private companies and public sector organizations in the pharmaceutical, food industry and the environment. Eurofins has a network of 180 laboratories across 35 countries.
• Midi Print (French) based in the commercial area of Gallargues, a state-of-the-art printing company that prints the paper editions for the south of France of Libération, Le Figaro, La Tribune, La Croix and the International Herald Tribune.

Up until the 19^th century, Vergèze was primarily an agricultural village. The main crop was vines, and the village economy was geared towards wine production: wine growers, coopers and wine merchants were the major inhabitants’ professions. Vergèze architecture has remained that of a traditional wine-producing village.

Nowadays, the wealth of the community of Vergèze comes essentially from the Perrier source developed by the Nestlé company. Although known since ancient times for its medicinal properties, the source of mineral water has only been marketted since the beginning of the 20th century.

Today, more than 1 000 employees work in a fully automated factory with a production (800 million bottles in 2009) that is shipped to the four corners of the world. It is possible to visit the industrial site of the Perrier Source.