DURHAM, N.C., July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Parata Systems announced today it will bring approximately 75 new manufacturing, engineering and customer support jobs to North Carolina over the next several months. The move will begin to integrate the McKesson Automated Prescription System (APS) products that Parata acquired with the company’s existing operations. Both business lines offer automation solutions for retail pharmacies in the U.S. and Canada.
Most of the positions will be in customer support and engineering, and employed by Parata; while about 10 jobs will be in manufacturing and employed at the Youngsville campus of Flextronics, Parata’s manufacturing partner since its inception in 2001.
“We recognize that our competitive strength lies in our strong service, R&D and design innovation, not in manufacturing; a tenet when we were founded that was influential in our analysis and decision-making about how to proceed post-acquisition,” Charles “De” Lelly, executive vice president, operations, explains.
The positions offered by Parata put the company well-ahead of pace on the three-year, 130-job target Parata committed to last month in order to qualify for incentives from the state’s One North Carolina Fund and Durham County.
Franklin County provided a $100,000 incentive contract to Parata to support the manufacturing consolidation.
“We have built a strong foundation in the Raleigh-Durham region and look forward to expanding that presence as we accelerate growth through our acquisition,” Lelly added.
A former McKesson APS facility in Alexandria, La., is scheduled to close by the end of February 2007 as a result of the transition. Nearly one-third of affected employees have expressed interest in relocating to North Carolina and will have an opportunity to apply first for many of the positions.
The decision to move production of APS products from the Alexandria, La., facility to Parata follows the May 30 announcement of Parata’s planned acquisition of the APS business unit from McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK - News) and the July 13 decision to retain and expand its corporate headquarters here in Durham.
About Parata Systems
Founded in 2001, Parata System offers technologies to enhance the safety and accuracy of the retail pharmacy dispensing process. Its flagship product, Parata RDS (Robotic Dispensing System), is 100 percent accurate for drug and dosage. It accurately processes up to 154 prescriptions an hour. Parata also offers semi-automated counting solutions, workflow software and unit-dose packaging for long-term care. Parata Systems is based in Durham, N.C. Call, click or visit Parata Systems, http://www.parata.com, info@parata.com, 1-888-PARATA1 (727-2821).
Source: Parata Systems
