There are different reasons for locating industry in a specific place, and these vary depending on the type of business and their characteristics.
Raw materials: If an industry needs many raw material to be near them can be very important especially to some basic industries that use lots of mineral.
- Workforce: Depending of the production the company will need many or few employees and these can be skilled or unskilled. If the company produces clothes for example they will need many unskilled workers so would be better to be near a big city, if it is a high-tech company will need few but skilled workers so it’s better if they are located near research centre.
- Market: Nowadays as the transport is cheaper is not so important to be near a great market but anyway if we produced perishable foods or cheap goods, could be cheaper if we produce them near a big city and don´t waste money in transport.
- Energy: Centuries ago it was more important than nowadays so they need to be near a river for example to have the energy. Anyway is the industry needs a lot of energy usually they contrast energy tariffs of different countries for example, or the type of energy they are going to use (wind, hydroelectric, solar…).
- Transport: Transport is basic to take materials and employees to the factory and also to take the goods to the market, so depending of the size and weight of the goods, the importance of been near a good transport network would be very important.
- Government aid: The money or support that a government gives to a business in order to determine the location of a factory in a certain place or country is very important in the beginning. This aid help the owner finance the project by finding a cheaper site or pay lower taxes.