BD's distribution center in Temse (Flanders) knows how to weather a storm. In normal times, the company produces 7 billion syringes and needles per year at its production sites worldwide – due to COVID-19 vaccinations this number has increased by 1 billion. Even without taking into account the equipment needed for vaccinations, an average of 20 million needles and syringes are shipped from the distribution center in Temse every week. But since November 2020, this number has increased by half. Every day about 50 trucks arrive and leave, carrying medical equipment from production sites all over the world. Healthcare and pharmaceutical players in the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia ... everyone wants a piece of the BD pie.

With a market share of around 70%, BD is the world's largest manufacturer of needles and syringes. So, when COVID-19 vaccination campaigns were set in motion, BD immediately found itself on the medical frontlines as well. In addition, the company recorded increased demand for PCR tests for diagnosis and rapid antigen tests in recent months.

However, the COVID-19 health crisis also took its toll on the business. For example, in the first few months of 2020, demand for surgical equipment plummeted, Alexander Alonso recalls:

New Jersey-based Becton Dickinson is an American medtech company founded in 1897 by Maxwell Becton and Fairleigh Dickinson. The company produces and distributes huge volumes of medical equipment. In 2020, global sales reached EUR 14 billion. BD has 70,000 employees worldwide and operates in 200 countries, including a presence in Flanders for over 60 years. Part of Flanders’ unique life sciences ecosystem, the 100,000 m² European distribution center in Temse currently employs some 340 people.