Jean-Claude Marcourt, Minister of Economic Affairs, Employment and Foreign Trade for the Walloon Region, opens a new construction site with Minister-President Elio Di Rupo in attendance.

Courcelles, October 13, 2005 – Jean-Claude Marcourt, Minister of Economic Affairs , Employment and Foreign Trade for the Walloon Region, officially opened the building site for Johnson & Johnson's new European distribution center for its medical devices & diagnostics division in Courcelles, near Charleroi, Belgium. Elio Di Rupo, Minister-President of the Walloon Region, underscored the significance of this project, which dovetails perfectly with the new industrial policy measures that have been adopted in the “Marshall Plan for Priority Action”.

With this investment of 33 million euros, the company will bring together part of its current distribution activities in Europe in one central location. The center will open in mid-2006 and will create between 120 and 160 jobs in the coming years. The distribution center is founded on close co-operation between Johnson & Johnson and TNT Logistics. Other partners involved in the project are the Walloon Office for Foreign Investors (OFI), the Walloon Employment Exchange (FOREM) and the building contractor Galère.

The Need for a New European Distribution Center
Today the European distribution for the products of the Medical Devices & Diagnostics division of Johnson & Johnson is organized through 26 distribution centers across Europe. The new distribution center in Courcelles will help streamline and professionalize these activities, and will centralize the activities for the following Johnson & Johnson companies: Cordis (minimally invasive treatment of vascular diseases), DePuy (orthopedic products), Ethicon EndoSurgery (minimally invasive surgery), Ethicon (sutures, cardiovascular surgery, women's health). In this way, the center will increase the competitiveness of the organization and facilitate delivery to the company's customers.

Collaboration between Different Partners
Johnson & Johnson works together closely with TNT Logistics for the European Distribution Center. The distribution center will be equipped with the latest information and automation technologies for the handling and storage of products. The other partners in the project are the Office for Foreign Investors for the Walloon Region, the Walloon Employment Exchange, which will take charge of staff recruitment, and Galère, the building contractor.

Johnson & Johnson is a leading private investor in Belgium, with more than 10 operating companies employing over 5,000 staff workers. It invests more than 1 billion euros in research each year.