14th January 2014

World Courier Announces Substantial Expansion to Existing Ground Europe Fleet

World Courier, an AmerisourceBergen (NYSE: ABC) company, has announced the upcoming expansion of the World Courier Ground Europe (WCGE)fleet.

WCGE currently operates Mercedes-Benz Sprinter temperature controlled ‘cube’ vans, capable of holding six Euro-pallets, and multifunctional ATP certified 13.6m trailers, from the office in Hythe Kent, close to the Channel Tunnel and the ports of Folkestone and Dover.

Since the EU Guidelines on Good Distribution Practice of Medicinal Products for Human Use came into effect, demand has been extremely high for the specially designed GDP compliant vehicles. Eleven new vehicles, due for delivery early this year, will be based in mainland Europe, to improve response times and flexibility for both existing clients and an ever expanding European customer base.

The added vehicles, which are built for fuel efficiency and low-emissions in compliance with World Courier’s ISO 14001 commitments, are being fitted out with a new generation of compressor units and in common with the existing fleet, carefully positioned temperature probes offering real time telemetry. Additionally they are being fitted with extra safety and security features, which have been retrofitted to the existing vehicles. These will be undergoing Operational Qualification at the Cambridge Refrigeration Technology facility in February prior to final commissioning.

WCGE’s fleet offers dedicated pharmaceutical vehicles tested to extremes of heat and cold and for seasonal variation, under multiple power sources. They are designed for transporting between -25°C and +25°C, to offer refrigerated, frozen and Controlled Room Temperature options.

Alan Bryan, Director of Integrated Services is excited to receive the new vehicles. “They will allow us to respond quickly to requests from our European clients and make deliveries both in Europe and beyond as the demands of the Pharmaceutical community turn regularly to the Ground offering to ensure compliant movement of products, APIs and clinical trial supplies.”

 

About World Courier

World Courier is the largest, most experienced specialty logistics provider in the world, operating a company-owned network of 152 ISO 9001-certified offices in over 50 countries including 13 GMP-compliant investigational drug storage facilities in key emerging and strategic locations. With a fully GxP-compliant transport and supply chain system in place network-wide, World Courier meets the most demanding industry and regulatory requirements for managing time and temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical shipments. World Courier was acquired in 2012 by AmerisourceBergen, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical services companies, currently ranked #32 on the Fortune 500 list. For more information about World Courier and AmerisourceBergen, visit WorldCourier.com and AmerisourceBergen.com.