Press Release : Unilabs opens a new, ultramodern analytical laboratory in Coppet
With this new laboratory, Unilabs is boosting the quality of its services in French-speaking Switzerland, as it maintains its local network of laboratories for doctors and patients. The new Unilabs Coppet laboratory has been operational since 25 March 2008. Specifically designed for medical tests, it is the only laboratory of its kind in French-speaking Switzerland, and required an investment of SFr30 million. Covering a modular surface area of over 3,000 m², it features a sophisticated technical support center, administrative offices and a reception area which includes two conference halls and a specimen collection center for patients. The laboratory currently employs 148 people, including 115 scientists and lab technicians and 33 administrative staff.
According to Unilabs Group Executive Chairman Paul Hökfelt, "In 2005, the Federal Council decided to cut the price of medical tests by 10% as of 1 January 2006, and we decided in January 2006 that in order to guarantee a high level of service quality, we would build a new central laboratory in French-speaking Switzerland."
He continues, " "When our structure, production processes and sample flows was audited by a team of multidisciplinary Unilabs specialists and external consultants, the idea of the Coppet laboratory came naturally. We wanted to build a center with the very latest technologies in terms of infrastructure and diagnostic equipment. The new building meets all our production, administration, and IT support needs."
The laboratory's scientists cover all fields in clinical biology, allowing it to offer a wide range of tests in the following fields: clinical chemistry, preventive medicine, hematology, serology, immunology/allergology, microbiology, and molecular biology. Unilabs now has a high-performance organization linking its local network to a central laboratory, allowing it to carry out urgent and routine tests, as well as specialized tests, in order to meet doctors' and patients' expectations.
About Unilabs
Created in Geneva in 1987, Unilabs joined the diagnostics business of the Swedish Group Capio in October 2007, a decision motivated by its desire to create the largest European laboratory services group. Its head office is in Geneva and the company continues to work under the name Unilabs. The new group Unilabs/Capio Diagnostics is European leader in clinical testing laboratories. With over 60 laboratories and over 2,800 employees operating in 11 countries, including 900 in Switzerland, Unilabs/Capio Diagnostics tests over 29 million samples per year using more than 1,500 different tests.
Michel Paccard, Marketing Director, Switzerland, is available for any further information (tel.: +41 (0)22 909 77 77). Our press releases are also published on our website: www.unilabs.ch.