Boehringer Ingelheim Invests €13 Million in Digitalization Projects at Global Technology Center in Barcelona

On the 10th anniversary of its Technology Hub at its headquarters in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to digitalization by investing 13 million euros in projects at this hub, which provides services worldwide and plans to continue investing in this area in the coming years. In addition, the multinational pharmaceutical company will strengthen this center by increasing its staff by 10% during this financial year.

The company opened this digital service center in 2013 with 100 employees, making it one of the first global IT service centers in Barcelona. Since then, it has grown to 300 employees and provides services to over 50,000 users. The team includes 27 different nationalities and speaks 14 languages.

Marieta Ramos, Head of the Technology Hub at Boehringer Ingelheim Spain, says: "Since we created the Technology Hub at our headquarters in Barcelona 10 years ago, our ambition has been to become a leader in digitalization in the pharmaceutical sector and to establish ourselves as a strategic site worldwide. This team's goal is to optimize the experience of our patients and customers. We are committed to attracting the best talent, fostering a diverse, collaborative, open environment, and encouraging our people to grow and innovate". In addition, Ramos points out: "This task inevitably involves attracting, developing and retaining diverse talents because it is our talents that will undoubtedly enrich and be the future of our Technology Services Center in Sant Cugat del Vallès, which serves the entire company worldwide".

The largest center

This hub is the largest of Boehringer Ingelheim's technology centers. "We are the most important unit for the company in technology services after the group's headquarters in Ingelheim am Rhein and the one in the United States", explains the head of the unit.

It houses, among other things, the cyber intelligence and security operations center, which is responsible for identifying vulnerabilities and possible cyberattacks to protect and prepare the company for such events. In this way, this strategic center provides evidence-based knowledge about threats against assets at Boehringer Ingelheim's various sites.

The technology hub also incorporates the Network Operation Center, the Factory Automation Center of Excellence, and the Salesforce Center of Excellence, among others. The Factory Automation Center applies new Industry 4.0 technologies to achieve the most advanced level of automation in Boehringer Ingelheim's global drug production plants and its two factories located in Barcelona. The network operations center is responsible for the worldwide control of the computer, transmission, and telecommunications networks of Boehringer Ingelheim's various offices and plants.

The multinational company also has two other technology centers in Buenos Aires and Manila, with the Barcelona center accounting for 60% of the workforce.

Adding value to the area

In addition to the Technology Hub, Boehringer Ingelheim also has a Digital Hub at the Sant Cugat del Vallès site in Barcelona, which currently employs 40 people and serves globally, becoming one of the company's reference centers.

By locating these two hubs in Barcelona, Boehringer Ingelheim contributes to economic growth by creating jobs in the area. This type of center represents a general development for the region, the universities, and the community. In addition, it has implications for attracting talent, investment, and innovation development. In this sense, universities and specialized technology centers in Catalonia are working with pharmaceutical companies to collaborate in learning and talent attraction programs and lectures for students on cutting-edge innovation and other topics.

In addition, Marieta Ramos assures that "we want to be a trusted partner so that local authorities are aware of our services and our investment in the country as a benchmark in the field of digitalization". Likewise, "innovation is part of the company's DNA in Spain, and these two technology centers demonstrate this".

Source: Boehringer Ingelheim