VETOQUINOL Corporate brochure 2010 (year 2009)

16 PRODUCTION FACILITIES A MODEL OF INDUSTRIAL PERFORMANCE Vétoquinol has five production facilities in Europe and North America that meet increasingly stringent international standards. The efficiency of the facilities, which are particularly involved in the Group’s continuous improvement programme, is continually increasing. PROXIMITY AND RESPONSIVENESS OF THE PRODUCTION SITES Vétoquinol has five production sites (in Europe and North America), which produced almost 24 million sales units in 2009. These sites are specialised according to their pharmaceutical characteristics and geographical region. In order to maximise responsiveness and logistics costs, the sites primarily serve markets on the same continent, but are capable of supplying to the rest of the world. In India, the products developed by the new Vétoquinol subsidiary are manufactured locally by subcontractors. STRICT COMPLIANCE WITH INCREASINGLY STRINGENT STANDARDS In all countries, the production of medicinal products for animals must comply with increasingly stringent standards, the same level as human pharmaceutical. Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) were made mandatory in France, leading to more controls. Thanks to its membership of national and international professional associations, Vétoquinol anticipates regulatory developments in order to improve the adaptation of its production facilities. The aim is to minimise the cost impact while balancing adherence to standards with customer satisfaction. CONTINUOUS MPROVEMENT Production planning is governed by a rigorous organisation process and requires optimum inventory management. The teams are therefore particularly involved in the continuous improvement programme that the Group has been implementing for several years, and which has enabled an average 25% reduction in product availability lead times. In 2009, the production sites in Lure (France), Tarare (France) and Princeville (Canada) began to implement the DARWIN project, which aims to involve every employee in the continuous improvement process through their participation in optimisation programmes. ■ SINCE NO PROCESS CAN EVER BE DECLARED PERFECT, THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. Masaaki Imai, founder of the Kaizen Institute