DHL expands San Juan cold chain facility; Increasing the life sciences and healthcare capabilities in the Americas region

DHL Global Forwarding, Deutsche Post DHL Group’s air and ocean freight specialist, is expanding its Certified Life Science Station in the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico by investing more than $650,000 in additional cold storage space and technology for the life sciences and healthcare sector.

“This new investment is a testament to our mission—connecting people, improving lives – and expands our network and capabilities in the life sciences and healthcare sector. This is especially important now during these challenging times, when temperature controlled logistics is crucial in helping customers navigate the pandemic,” said David Goldberg, DHL Global Forwarding, US. “It is also a culmination of a meticulously planned facility that will further solidify our market leadership position in the logistics industry, and will offer all the necessary features and services to help our customers continue to grow as we see an increase in the need for medical supplies and vaccines.”

DHL Global Forwarding San Juan’s expansion project of its 72,000 sq.ft. facility included the following:

• Construction of a new deep-frozen cool room. A new deep-frozen room with a temperature range of -18.0 C to -30.0 C, will permit the pre-conditioning of passive containers, special blankets, boxes, and PCM units, while providing full capability to store, load, unload and deliver customer products.

• Additional cool room capability including additional 2-8 °C storage, a temperature controlled cross docking area and sufficient space for RAP container handling, allowing for the simultaneous handling of multiple containers.

• Expanded cool room will provide additional capability for short and long term Cool Room Storage services.

• Additional loading and unloading services for active and passive containers under the controlled ambient temperature (15-25°C & 2-8°C).

• Improved Temperature Monitoring System Software which provides easy to use system navigation, user graphics, comprehensive alarm management, trend analysis, and increased data storage needed for life-saving products.

• An additional generator which will provide 100% of power supply redundancy and add 100KW additional capacity.

The DHL Global Forwarding San Juan project is an extension of the company’s ongoing commitment to quality assurance and logistic services for the pharmaceutical industry. Since 1958, DHL Global Forwarding San Juan has been a robust leader in the local Life Sciences & Healthcare (LSHC) sector in Puerto Rico, becoming the first freight forwarder to open a Certified Life Science station on the island in 2007.

With the additional capacity and cold chain rooms, the facility also has the following temperature controlled capabilities dedicated to life science products:

• +15°C to +25°C temperature controlled storage

• +2°C to +8°C temperature controlled storage

• +15°C to +25°C cross dock area.

“Puerto Rico plays a crucial role in our life sciences and healthcare footprint,” said Javier Aleman, station manager, DHL Global Forwarding, San Juan, Puerto Rico. “We are committed to providing quality service to all our customers and will continue to invest in raising our quality standards for the local market.”

In 2016, DHL Global Forwarding San Juan invested more than US$ 1 million in achieving a tenfold increase in its temperature control area capacity. It has since continued to invest in raising its standards on the island. The latest investment is an extension of this objective, seeking to provide customers with improved storage capabilities and more sophisticated equipment.

Recently, DHL Global Forwarding also added a new $1.6 million Indianapolis facility to its life sciences and healthcare network in the United States. The state-of-the-art 20,000 sq.ft. facility meets customer demands for local presence, high quality cold chain network and much-needed digitalization capabilities. The new facility became part of the extensive life sciences and healthcare network for DHL Global Forwarding including Chicago, Miami, Atlanta and San Juan. Currently there are +150 Certified LSH Specialists and 17 Life Sciences designated Competence Centers across the US.