(Image from Fresenius)
Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS; ETR:FRE) said it broke ground this week on a new distribution center in Knoxville, Tenn.
The new center will be the German company’s largest on the East Coast and will help support the company’s efforts to increase the number of patients with kidney failure choosing home dialysis, according to Fresenius. It will employ more than 120 and allow for growth of the company’s nearby manufacturing plant, which opened in 2016. That plant produces peritoneal dialysis solution and other supplies for home and clinical dialysis.
“We are making a strong commitment to expanding access to home dialysis and empowering our patients to choose the treatment option that works best for their individual needs,” said Fresenius Medical Care CEO Rice Powell in a news release. “This new distribution center under construction is critical to that effort and will allow us to better serve the needs of thousands of people living with kidney failure across the country. The support from the Knoxville community, which includes so many business and government partners, has been a huge part of our success, and we thank everyone who helped make this groundbreaking possible.”
Once completed early next year, the warehouse will provide a location to store and distribute nationally all products manufactured at the nearby plant. This will allow expansion of the manufacturing plant to produce the company’s Biofine line of products, a PVC-free, environmentally safer, and more effective product for storage and use of peritoneal solution during home dialysis treatment. The factory employs more than 180, and Fresenius said it plans to almost double that number within the next five years.
