UPS Healthcare opens first dedicated facility in Germany in close proximity to Cologne air hub

UPS Healthcare has opened a dedicated healthcare logistics facility in Giessen, Germany, creating up to 150 new jobs.

The 27,200sq m GMP and GDP compliant space will house over 30,000 pallet positions capable of supporting storage of a range of healthcare products at 2°C to 8°C, 15°C to 25°C and up to -20°C degrees.

“We have created a truly pan-European cold chain network, capable of providing end-to-end range of quality specialist storage and handling services,” said UPS Healthcare’s president, global logistics and distribution John Bolla.

“In opening our first facility in Germany, we can provide greater visibility and control to ensure our customer’s patient-critical products are delivered where they need to be, at the right time and at the right temperature.”

The roof of the facility features a solar power system that is expected to produce more than 850,000 kWh of electricity annually – more than the facility consumes. The building also meets the ‘Gold Standard’ of the German Sustainable Building Council, UPS said.

The company noted that the new facility’s proximity to UPS’ European air hub at Cologne Bonn Airport and UPS Healthcare’s European hub in Roermond “also provides customers with shorter domestic and global transit times, potentially increasing production windows and offers next-day delivery to 80 per cent of Europe as well as access to major ports including Rotterdam, Antwerp and Amsterdam”.

Throughout 2023, UPS Healthcare said it would add over 200,000sq m of warehouse space, of which about half will be in Europe. This space will add to its existing 217 facilities with a total of over 1.5 million sq m of cGMP and GDP-compliant healthcare distribution space in 37 countries and territories. Through these investments, UPS Healthcare will have more than doubled its presence in dedicated healthcare facilities in 2023 compared to 2020.