Medical supplies provider thrilled to open new space in Burlington

Canadian Hospital Specialties (CHS) combined two Oakville spaces into one when they moved into their brand-new Burlington facility earlier this year.

The medical products provider held a grand opening celebration with warehouse tours for staff, special guests and politicians at the International Blvd. site Thursday morning.

Located east of Appleby Line, off the North Service Road, the property boasts a 192,000 sq.-ft., state-of-the-art facility.

Peter Conteduca, vice president of sales and marketing said the warehouse team is working 24/7 to get life-saving products out.

CHS provides a wide range of innovative medical products and cost-effective solutions that allow customers to improve the way they work and provide a better level of patient care.

They are committed to delivering innovative and customized solutions with locally manufactured and globally-sourced specialty products.

CHS Ltd., which was established in 1967, is a privately held medical device manufacturer and specialty distributor. Customers are in the acute hospital and non-acute healthcare space in Canada and internationally in some 53 countries, including the United States.

If you’ve ever wondered where the medical supplies and equipment come from that keep a hospital operating, it’s likely CHS. They also provide to the dental industry.

CHS self-manufactured products at locations in Oakville and Brampton (MED-RX) and third party products include: respiratory, anaesthesia, perfusion, interventional radiology, biopsy, drainage, diagnostic imaging, pharmacy, vascular access, infection prevention, neuro and cardiac diagnostics.

CHS chief executive officer Mike Canzoneri said he’s excited about where they’ve been and where they’re going.

“We are proud of our history and to be part of the Canadian healthcare system,” he said. “We are proud of where we are, and what we do.”

Oakville North-Burlington MPP Effie Triantafilopoulos said she is proud of all the work and innovative solutions at CHS.

“This is a step forward to building a stronger and more resilient Ontario,” she said, noting the COVID crisis tested health care systems. “We learned how critically important it is for a domestic supply chain and crucial health care devices.

“CHS demonstrated remarkable ingenuity and met the soaring demand for supplies, equipment and tools to save lives and care for those who needed it.”

During the pandemic, CHS pivoted manufacturing operations to respond to the critical need for personal protective equipment and other critically-needed medical devices and supplies such as swabs and swab kits for COVID-19 testing.

Through the province's Ontario Together Fund, CHS received $1.9 million earlier this year. It helped to add 50 new well-paid jobs to the specialty distributor.

“We and CHS have a shared mission that we will never again be vulnerable and at the mercy of foreign suppliers,” Triantafilopoulos said, adding thanks to the “brave men and women at CHS, risking their own health. I can’t thank you enough and we celebrate the life-saving work of CHS and the grand opening.”

The warehouse, with fully-automated sensor lighting, features three distinct areas, and also has temperature-controlled areas for the storage of specific medications, such as Naloxone kits and Lidocaine. 

The unique racking system is 32-feet tall, with a five-tier racking system. The standard is 22-feet. It means that instead of being able to house 4,700 pallets, they can accommodate 8,000. It also meant they had to invest in specific forklifts to reach that high; they were happy to be able to get those locally  through nearby Yale Forklifts.

Some 43 warehouse employees rotate 12-hour continental shifts. On average they ship out 500 to 600 packages a day, including urgent orders, or orders for hospital emergencies.