UPS Healthcare expands European hub in Roermond, Netherlands

Belgian biopharmaceutical exports also benefit

UPS Healthcare announces the expansion of its European hub facility in Roermond, Netherlands. The logistics provider is adding 21,860 m² to the existing facility and increasing its cold chain capacity. The latter is a crucial link in a strong and reliable supply chain for a wide range of complex biopharmaceuticals. The revamped logistics hub is in close contact with the facilities in Heist-op-den-Berg, which in turn can offer additional capacity and flexibility in deliveries.

More options for freezer storage

The expansion of the Roermond facility allows UPS to increase its cold chain capacity and capabilities. The Roermond hub now has more than 200 ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezers capable of storing temperature-sensitive products down to -80 °C. In addition, the facility adds about 3,200 pallet positions to its existing portfolio for storing temperature-sensitive products at 2 °C to 8 °C.

Worldwide, UPS Healthcare now has 1.6 million sq. ft. of cGMP- and GDP-compliant storage space, of which 930,000 sq. ft. is dedicated to cold chain. Since 2020, it has more than doubled its global network of healthcare-compliant storage space.

Responding to a growing market

The expansion of the facility meets the need for advanced and temperature-controlled logistics in the healthcare industry. The global biologics market is expected to grow from €342.9 billion in 2024 to €564.6 billion by 2029¹. In the case of the Belgian pharma sector, it is estimated to grow at an annual growth rate of 6% between 2024 and 2028, representing a market volume of €6.4 billion by 2028².

"Society's healthcare needs are changing. There is more need for biologics and they require complex temperature-controlled logistics with sustainable end-to-end solutions. This is how we get patient-critical products where they need to be, from lab to patient, on time and at the right temperature." says Anouk Hesen, Operations Director, UPS Healthcare West Europe. "By expanding the facility in Roermond, we are able to offer a greater range of our cold chain logistics to a rapidly growing and innovative market."

Strategic location

The Roermond facility is close to UPS' European air hub at Cologne-Bonn Airport and has direct access to major ports such as Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Antwerp. The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is an important link in Belgium's pharmaceutical exports³. Moreover, the pharmaceutical sector represents 10% of total Belgian exports⁴. UPS Healthcare also has a fleet of temperature-controlled vehicles.

Moreover, Roermond is located within a 1,000 km radius 80% of the European healthcare market. The combination of that central strategic location and a specialized fleet ensures that delivery within 24 hours is possible in most of Europe.

Renewable energy to meet sustainability goals

UPS Healthcare also installed 2,500 solar panels that provide more than 1.2 GWh of energy. That is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of more than 360 families in Flanders or just under 590 families in Brussels⁵.
The solar panels allow UPS to put power back into the grid. This contributes to its local sustainability efforts around renewable energy. This initiative aligns with UPS's goal of powering one in four facilities with renewable energy by 2025. By 2035, all facilities must run on renewable energy.

UPS Healthcare's sustainability efforts also benefit its customers. EU regulations require large and publicly traded companies to report regularly on their environmental impact through sustainability reporting. This includes emissions from suppliers. So lower emissions at UPS Healthcare's facilities mean lower emissions for its customers.