Staden is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Oostnieuwkerke, Staden proper and Westrozebeke. On January 1, 2006 Staden had a total population of 10,969. The total area is 46.24 km² which gives a population density of 237 inhabitants per km². The municipality of Staden is one of the most important areas of Europe for the production of frozen vegetables (cauliflowers, Brussels Sprouts, etc.) Some of the largest frozen vegetables production companies like Horafrost, Pinguin (which is noted on Euronext Brussels) and Westfro are based in Staden.
Staden is not only housing some of the largest frozen vegetables companies of Europe, it is also well known for the highly specialised manufacturers of agricultural and horticultural equipment, like Lauwers and Perdu.
Staden is a very productive agricultural and horticultural area. Thanks to continuous improvement of techniques, the agriculturists and horticulturists do not only produce a very large range vegetables and flowers and animals for the local market but also for export to France, Germany, Europe in general, Asia and oversea.
Grown vegetables are: Brussels sprouts, leek, cauliflower, different kinds of lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, and beans.
Staden is very known for his chrysant flower production. Gediflora is world leader in producing these marvellous flowers.
Staden is also the municipality with a huge production of pigs of an extreme high quality. One of Belgiums largest meat processing company (Westvlees) is located in the Westrozebeke town, part of the Staden municipality. Staden has also another smaller meat processing company named Lavameat. Two large companies (Voeders Degrave and Voeders Dick) are producing food for the pig breeding business.
The Mol company has headquarters in Oostnieuwkerke, part of Staden. The company is the last and only company producer of waste handling trucks in Belgium. The company is also a large producer of trailers, special trucks and handling trucks.
Staden has also many other small and middle large companies with activities in building, construction, logistics, recycling, banking, and retail.
Staden has few cultural highlights, but offers a nice and open living and working space. It is a very busy municipality and that is the reason why there is a high need for employees. Nowadays, several hundreds of French and East-European workers are taking up a lot of work. Expectations are that this amount will still grow in the future.