United Drug in €40m spend pledge

Drug delivery company United Drug is to invest €40m in upgrading its Dublin headquarters in a move which will significantly expand its capacity in the coming years.

The company is the former Irish drug distribution division of diversified healthcare services group UDG Healthcare. It was bought by international pharmaceutical wholesale group McKesson, which owns the Lloyds Pharmacy chain for €407m last year.

The latest investment will go towards enhancing United Drug’s systems and technologies at its Dublin headquarters and will ultimately increase the company’s distribution by two-thirds. Management has also indicated that it will further expand capacity over the coming three years.

“Our investment in technology, particularly automation, is critical to maintaining our high operational and quality standards in terms of stock range, customer service and delivery,” said United Drug managing director Paul Reilly.

“Our systems are more technologically advanced than our competitors, and, despite the tough and challenging market we operate in, we will continue to invest and innovate so as to provide a ‘sustainable healthcare platform’ for our customers and maintain our strong track record,” he said.

“At any one time, we have 30 million packs in our Dublin warehouse. We run a huge operation that, for the more than 1,800 pharmacies we serve, many twice a day, it’s important that operations are as tightly scheduled and as efficient as possible to ensure that important medicines reach patients when they need them,” Mr Reilly said.

Work on phase one of the €40m investment covering an upgrade of United Drug’s 28,000 sqm warehouse facility, including modern automation has just been completed.

The second phase involves an upgrade of the warehouse’s temperature control system, as well as enhancements of its IT systems, including digital services and data analytics.

This is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.

United Drug employs more than 650 staff in its four facilities at CityWest, Swords, Ballina and Limerick.