newsworthy
UPS acquires Italian healthcare
logistics firm
UPS Inc., continuing its expansion into the healthcare logistics segment,
has purchased Pieffe Group, an Italian pharmaceutical logistics company,
for an undisclosed sum.
Family-owned Pieffe has been in business for 35 years and serves the
pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device industries. The purchase
represents a departure from UPS’s past practice of building healthcare
logistics capabilities mostly through organic growth and expansion.
Pieffe operates two healthcare distribution locations, one in Rome and
the other in Milan, which total 753,000 square feet of space and include 12
cold storage areas. With the two facilities, UPS now has a network of 32
healthcare facilities worldwide, with a total of 4 million square feet of space.
UPS began its push into healthcare logistics in 2000, when it acquired
logistics firm Livingston Healthcare Services. Since then, it has mostly
focused on building or expanding facilities in key markets. One exception
was in 2009, when it acquired two U.S. facilities from pharmaceutical
giant Merck & Co. when Merck turned over most of its U.S. distribution
operations to UPS.
During 2011, UPS opened dedicated healthcare facilities in Singapore,
the Netherlands, Canada, Brazil, and Louisville, Ky., home of its global
air hub. ;
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newsmakers
YRC has named Jeff England director
of exhibit sales and operations in the
Eastern region, and Steve Naasz
director of exhibit sales and operations for the West. England and Naasz
will report directly to Bill Schwar, vice
president of exhibit services for YRC.
… Clark Material Handing Co. has
appointed Rob Smith product marketing coordinator. Smith has eight
years of sales and marketing experience in the material handling industry, where he has been recognized
with various awards for sales excellence. … Saddle Creek Corp., a
nationwide third-party logistics service provider, has hired Mike Green as
director of business development on
the East Coast. Green, who is based in
Greensboro, N.C., has worked in the
logistics industry for more than 15
years. Prior to joining Saddle Creek,
he served as senior business development director for Inmar. … SDI
Industries, a consulting, engineering,
and systems integration specialist,
has named Ralph Henderson vice
president, director of sales.
Henderson, who comes to SDI with 20
years’ experience in the industry, will
be responsible for developing sales of
SDI’s flexible sorting unit. …
Westfalia Technologies Inc., a
provider of warehouse
automation solutions,
has named Joseph De
Poto applications
engineering manager.
De Poto will coordinate resources to
design, quote, and
implement automated storage and
retrieval systems (AS/RS) and conveying systems. He most recently served
as operations manager at Interlake
Mecalux. … Doug Tilden, former
Marine Terminals Corp. CEO and
Ports America executive, has joined
Brookfield Infrastructure Group, a
unit of Toronto-based Brookfield
Asset Management, as senior consultant for its ports business.
DE POTO
