Bergen Plans to Move Offices to Orange County

Bergen Brunswig Corp., a fast-growing pharmaceutical products distribution company that is planning to merge with National Intergroup Inc., said Wednesday that it will move in April to a new $20-million building in Orange, consolidating its Century City headquarters and Carson offices.

The Orange location was chosen after an in-house study showed that about 80% of Bergen Brunswig’s 600 employees live in Orange County, the company said.

“We hoped that, by relocating here, most employees would not have to move,� said Jack Fay, vice president of corporate affairs, during a tour of the unfinished, four-story, 200,000-square-foot building.

Company officials said the move from Los Angeles will occur regardless of whether Bergen Brunswig merges with National Intergroup, the Pittsburgh-based parent of National Steel and First Nationwide Savings.

If the merger is approved, the two companies would operate as separate subsidiaries of a new holding company to be called Bergen National Corp. The companies’ shareholders are expected to vote on the merger at separate meetings next week.

Communications System

The move also allows Bergen Brunswig to take advantage of new communications technology. It hired Will Fesler, an Irvine architect, and PacTel Connections, a San Francisco-based unit of Pacific Telesis, to design a state-of-the-art data and voice communications system.

About 70,000 feet of Teflon-coated International Business Machines Corp. cable is being installed throughout the building. A total of 20 miles of various kinds of cable will link the employees, their telephones and computer terminals to the outside world, according to Philip Blank, director of operations for PacTel Connections.

By installing the cable throughout the building, Blank said, Bergen Brunswig will be able to rearrange its offices and work areas without having to rewire the building.

Bergen Brunswig reported net earnings of $23.4 million on revenue of $1.7 billion for the year ended Aug. 31, 1984. For the first quarter of 1985 ended last Nov. 30, the company reported net earnings of $6.2 million on revenue of $493 million.