Cardinal Health Malta has been presented with six awards by its parent company at a ceremony in San Antonio, Texas. Cardinal Health Malta's manufacturing facility produces and sells Medi-Vac suction canisters used during surgery, which are mainly exported to European markets.
Eucharist Baldacchino, director of manufacturing, described the awards given by Cardinal Health's Medical Segment as "very prestigious".
The awards given are: Best Plant of the Year; Best Manufacturing Director of the Year; Best Plant Goals Attainment Award; Best Inventory Management award; Best Cost Management Award; and Best Service Level Award.
"To be selected as the best manufacturing facility out of all the state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities of Cardinal Health is a great accomplishment. To win a record breaking six awards - out of the eight awards available - in one year is a phenomenal experience," he says.
This is the second time that the Malta operation was given the Best Plant of the Year award by Cardinal Health. The first time was in 2005.
"The medical segment plant awards ceremony started in 1998. The Malta operation started participating in 2002. Since then we have won a total of 11 awards. To clinch these awards and reach this performance level within a global healthcare company ranked 18th in the Fortune 500, is indeed a very rewarding experience," he adds.
Cardinal Health Malta has tripled its production between 1995 and 2009. What is the secret of its success?
"The secret of 15 years of success is attributed to our philosophy that we are able to win regardless of the business scenario. It is not an overstatement that over the past years we managed to continue to reduce our operating cost year after year even in very tough and challenging business scenarios. This enabled us to stay ahead of our competitors and as a matter of fact our marketing and sales teams were able to grow the Medi-Vac product line steadily over the years.
"A key characteristic of the facility which gravitates from our underlying philosophy is our ability to implement changes and major projects fast and flawlessly. These accomplishments could only be achieved with a high-calibre management and staff and a very flexible and adaptable workforce," he says.
One of Cardinal Health's long-term strategic priorities is to grow its business internationally, Mr Baldacchino says, pointing out that Cardinal Health Malta is the only European-based manufacturing operation with the Cardinal Health medical segment.
"With the cost-effective structure and the attractive business environment in Malta, the manufacturing facility is well positioned in Cardinal Health's medical segment and international strategy, to utilise this facility as its manufacturing platform to grow its businesses in the European and other markets."
In Europe Cardinal Health's main export markets are France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Benelux, the Nordic countries and Turkey. The Malta plant also exports to Saudi Arabia, Australia and New Zealand.
Mr Baldacchino says that Malta Enterprise played a "pivotal" role in assisting Cardinal Health Malta since the start-up phase in 1995 mentioning tax credits on investments and grant schemes that the company benefited from as "key factors which stimulated the capital investments and supported the rapid development of the Malta facility over the past 15 years."
He says in general the healthcare industry was less affected by the global recession, due to the generally stable demand for healthcare products.
"Having said that, the international healthcare market is very competitive, so we not only provide a high quality, cost-effective product, but we also provide an excellent service to customers which is absolutely essential for the success of the business."
Based in Ohio, US, Cardinal Health Inc. is a Fortune 18 healthcare services company. As one of the largest healthcare companies in the world, Cardinal Health is an essential link in the healthcare supply chain, providing pharmaceuticals and medical products to more than 40,000 locations each day. The company is also a leading manufacturer of medical and surgical products, including gloves, surgical apparel and fluid management products.
In addition, the company supports the growing diagnostic industry by supplying medical products to clinical laboratories and operating America's largest network of radio pharmacies that dispense products to aid in the early diagnosis and treatment of disease. Cardinal Health employs more than 30,000 people worldwide.