UPS adds Pieffe Group to its global healthcare portfolio

With its eye on further expanding its rapidly growing global healthcare business, UPS announced today it has agreed to purchase Pieffe Group, an Italy-based pharmaceutical logistics company.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

This deal comes on the heels of UPS opening five new dedicated global healthcare facilities this year in Singapore; Venlo, the Netherlands; Canada; Louisville, KY; and Brazil, giving the company more than 4 million square feet of healthcare distribution space globally. And through the acquisition of Pieffe, it has gained two new facilities in Milan and Rome, upping the total number of global UPS healthcare facilities to 32. The Milan and Rome facilities comprise a combined space of nearly 753,500 square feet, including 12 cold storage areas, with options for further expansion, according to UPS. About 50 Pieffe employees will join UPS through this acquisition.

UPS officials said that Pieffe has been in business for more than 35 years and provides high-quality storage, distribution and cold chain solutions to some of the world’s leading healthcare and pharmaceutical brands.

“Healthcare is a key industry focus for UPS, so the acquisition of Pieffe aligns with UPS’s ongoing global healthcare logistics strategy in which we have made strategic investments to better serve the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries,” said Bill Hook, vice president of Global Strategy, UPS Healthcare Logistics, in an interview. “Pieffe is a complement to an already strong UPS global network of dedicated healthcare facilities. The acquisition also will give us a stronger physical healthcare presence in Italy, along with additional capabilities and expertise that will enable us to serve Italian healthcare customers even better.”

When asked what made Pieffe attractive to UPS, Hook said that it shares UPS’s focus on a very high level of service quality and compliance, adding that UPS and Pieffe also have a deep-rooted culture of precision and innovation in common, and Pieffe also brings with it tremendous experience and expertise in the sector and the local market.

“We’re looking forward to continuing to provide customers with the highest levels of service with the backing of UPS’s worldwide brand,” said Hook. “With that comes UPS’s dedicated healthcare facilities for better global reach; the healthcare compliance expertise of our people to navigate complex global regulations; advanced technology to ensure efficient processes and better shipment visibility, and the reliability of our globally integrated transportation network. This positions UPS to meet the very unique and complex needs of this market. No one else has this kind of breadth and depth globally.”

Hook would not definitively say if UPS is making more healthcare-related acquisitions in the future, but he explained that UPS has always said that despite the still-tough economic conditions it would still make strategic investments that provide opportunities to grow UPS and to strengthen the services and solutions that it bring to its customers. And he said that UPS is running a strong, profitable enterprise that is and will be well positioned to take advantage of strategic opportunities when they arise.

“Pieffe is a perfect fit for UPS,” said Jim Barber, president, UPS Europe, in a statement. “The company shares UPS’s focus on high-quality service and compliance, as well as our deep-rooted culture of precision and innovation. Pieffe will make a valuable addition to UPS’s European healthcare network, and we look forward to welcoming their team to the UPS family.”