Coloplast boss highlights key role for new £9 million distribution centre in Peterborough

Coloplast officially opened the 135,000sq ft facility at Peterborough Gateway on Friday in a bid to ensure it can avoid any interruptions in its supplies to patients, trade customers and NHS professionals.

Annemarie van Neck, General Manager for Coloplast, which provides vital medical devices to make life easier for people with intimate medical conditions, said: "This is a very significant day because it's an achievement that has been over three years in the making and we have invested £9 million in making this come true.

"We have quadrupled the distribution space we have in the Peterborough area.

"We have done this because we wanted to make sure that all our customers in Peterborough were being serviced appropriately and some of that has to do with the potentially changing trading situation after the Brexit vote.

"We will now be able to supply our trade customers directly, rather than rely on previous supply routes where there were risks of delays.

“We also have increased capacity to hold more stock which benefits the NHS, healthcare professionals who prescribe our products, the patients using them and contractors dispensing them. I would like to thank all staff who have worked hard to make today a reality.”

Simplifying its supply chain - with many of the millions of products stored at the distribution centre arriving from mainland Europe - will mean faster delivery of its products to patients and will increase the capacity to meet same-day orders, which are essential for customers with intimate healthcare needs.

The new distribution centre, called Coloplast Operations at the Gateway (COG), has created 150 jobs. The company has 340 employees across Peterborough,

Mrs van Neck said: "We have a very diverse workforce with males and females working here and with colleagues from 11 countries in Europe.

"Today marks an historical occasion. We continue to invest in the UK and the Peterborough area. The UK is the biggest business for Coloplast. We continue to invest here not only in distribution but we have also added a lot of new jobs in an office building at Lynch Wood."

An impressive feature of the new distribution centre is its 10 specialist laser machines - of which there are only 29 in the world - where staff cut individually sized stoma bags for customers.

The team turns out 380 stoma bags per person each hour using the lasers but some 20 per cent of the total turnout is still done by staff using scissors to comply with the preferences of the customers.

Director for UK Distribution Richard Gutsell said: “I am pleased that the countless hours of planning and execution undertaken to ensure that we deliver the COG on time and within budget have been a success.

"It is a testament to the hard work of the whole Coloplast team that we are here today to see the COG officially opened.”

Peterborough MP Paul Bristow said: "This is great news, not just for the NHS and Coloplast’s staff, but for the whole of Peterborough.

"This is exactly the kind of big investment that will help to level up all parts of our country.”

Tom Hennessy, chief executive of the city’s economic development company for the city, Opportunity Peterborough, added, “Coloplast is one of Peterborough’s most well respected employers and it’s great to see careers, not just jobs, being created for residents.

“The company has a 40-year legacy here and this investment really evidences the strength of Peterborough’s offer for international businesses. Opportunity Peterborough will continue to support Coloplast’s growth in Peterborough as it delivers life changing products and services to customers across the UK.”

International Trade Minister Graham Stuart MP said: "Coloplast’s investment will deliver better healthcare for millions of UK patients. It’s another vote of confidence in the UK as we seek to make this the best place in the world for health-tech companies to innovate and grow.”

The new hub also has sustainability at its heart with low-flow sanitaryware, a rainwater harvesting system, pulsed water meters and a water leak detection system making it highly water efficient.

Sixty covered cycle storage spaces have also been created to support employee health and wellbeing and reduce commuting emissions.