Montreal, June 25, 2009
– McKesson Canada held on Monday –
in the presence of the Honourable Dave Denine, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs andMinister Responsible for the Volunteer and Non-Profit Sector Government of Newfoundland and Labrador –
an official ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the
8,000 square foot expansion
and $1,2 million investment in its Mount Pearl, Newfoundland distribution centre which supplies pharmaceutical products, over-the-counter medications and consumer products to hospitals and retail pharmacies across Newfoundland and Labrador.
The five-month expansion project which began in October 2008 was initiated in response to an increase in business activity for the
Mount
Pearl
distribution centre, which saw its pharmaceutical distribution business in the
province
of
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
double in the past five years. McKesson
Canada
also recently signed a ten-year contract as the preferred supplier of the PharmaChoice chain of independently-owned pharmacies, in addition to securing distribution agreements with Loblaws and acquiring new hospital distribution business in the province.
From left to right:
Scott Barron
, Mount Pearl Distribution Center Manager, Nick Loporcaro, Vice President and General Manager, Eastern Canada Marketplace
, McKesson Canada and the
Honourable Dave Denine
, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and
Minister Responsible for the Volunteer and Non-Profit Sector Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, with a few of the team members of the
Mount Pearl, Newfoundland, Distribution Centre
|
The new expansion and related technologies, including radio frequency picking and
direct to put away
, state-of-the-art fridge monitoring and a back-up generator to ensure the integrity of temperature sensitive pharmaceuticals, will help McKesson Canada keep pace with its continually expanding business. In addition, the distribution centre’s new back-up generator will ensure the product integrity of all pharmaceuticals in the event of a power failure and enable the distribution centre to stay fully operational which will improve the safety and efficiency of health care for all residents of Newfoundland and Labrador.
According to
Nick Loporcaro, Vice President and General Manager, Eastern Canada Marketplace
, McKesson Canada, ”McKesson Canada’s impressive growth in the retail pharmacy and hospital distribution segment in Newfoundland and Labrador stems from its ability to leverage the scale and expertise of its cross-Canada operations in order to lower the total cost of healthcare delivery for community pharmacies and hospitals, while increasing the quality and safety of pharmaceutical distribution across the province. This will further help position our ability to provide our customers with a wide and diversified range of services. McKesson
Canada
is extremely proud that its expanded distribution centre and growing regional business will help stimulate the region’s economy and create local employment.”
McKesson
Canada
also took the opportunity to present a $15,000 grant from the McKesson Foundation to the
Janeway Children’s Hospital Foundation in order to acquire a cardiac monitor for the region.
About McKesson
Canada
Founded more than 100 years ago, McKesson
Canada
is the leading provider of logistics as well as information products and services within the Canadian health care marketplace. McKesson
Canada
carries more than 35,000 products, in 17 distribution centres, and provides logistics and distribution to more than 800 manufacturers – delivering their products to 6,300 retail pharmacies, 1,350 hospitals, long-term care centres, clinics and institutions throughout
Canada
. Beyond pharmaceutical distribution, McKesson
Canada
has provided automation services for 2,500 retail pharmacies; and is also active in hospital automation solutions, dispensing more than 100 million doses each year. The company also provides a full range of services to Canadian manufacturers and healthcare providers, contributing to the quality and safety of care for Canadian patients.