UPS announced it plans to triple the size of its “Centennial” ground package sorting facility in Louisville, US. The project is expected to cost an estimated $300m and should be substantially completed by 2018. At this site, UPS plans to add more than 300 jobs – a mix of full- and part-time positions – over the course of the project.
The facility provides pickup and delivery operations for customers in Louisville and surrounding counties and serves as a transfer point for trailers moving to destinations beyond Kentucky. It also supports end-of-runway express service due to its proximity to the UPS Worldport facility.
The Centennial Hub is expected to be retrofitted with automated conveyors to move packages through the sort process capturing package data and routing volume to proper load positions. Six-sided decode tunnels are to replace traditional scanning to capture package information from address labels. Label applicators are planned place “smart labels” on packages for local delivery, providing UPS loaders and sorters faster instruction of proper loading. This automation is part of UPS’s suite of package flow technologies.
Lou Rivieccio, president of UPS’s Ohio Valley District said, “This hub upgrade enhances UPS’s transportation and logistics capabilities and represents a continued commitment to our customers,” adding “UPS has worked with Kentucky economic development officials to be a catalyst for business growth in the area and to link with our air operations as a gateway for global trade, and we are grateful to the Commonwealth for their support of this expansion.”
The current building footprint is due to increase from 257,000 sq feet to 838,000 sq ft with construction scheduled to begin in 2016. Pickup and delivery operations are due to continue throughout the project.
