UPS completes expansion of European air hub
After 2½ years of construction, UPS (NYSE:UPS) has opened a greatly expanded, more automated package sorting hub in Europe that will accommodate the shipping needs of its growing customer base for years to come.
The expanded facility, located at the Cologne/Bonn Airport, almost doubles the original hub’s sorting capacity to 110,000 packages per hour, or more than 30 packages per second. Much of that increase in speed has been accomplished through the deployment of new automation technology, making the hub the most advanced as well as the largest facility of its type in Europe.
“UPS continues to experience strong growth in Europe and this facility will ensure we are able to provide our customers with reliable, global distribution solutions,” said Wolfgang Flick, president, UPS Europe. “The investment is part of a long-term strategy to help customers compete and succeed in the key trading lanes within Europe and linking Europe to North America and Asia.”
The construction project, completed at a cost of $135 million, more than doubles the UPS hub at the airport to 813,000 square feet and will make it possible to easily expand its capacity to 165,000 packages per hour in the future. The growth of the company’s European business is expected to create several hundred new jobs at the Cologne hub, which today employs 1,800.
UPS’s air hub at Cologne/Bonn has been the main European gateway within the company’s ever-growing global network since 1986. Along with the Worldport facility in Louisville, Ky., and Asian hubs in Taiwan and the Philippines, Cologne/Bonn plays the central role in UPS’s ability to offer customers optimal international service.
UPS has enjoyed great success in Europe, including 36 consecutive quarters of strong export volume growth. In 2005, UPS’s export volume from Europe grew nearly 15 percent over 2004. UPS’s network delivers to every address in Europe – and guarantees delivery by noon to more business addresses than any competitor – while also offering the broadest product portfolio including international, trans-border and domestic express, return services, cash flow services, online solutions and freight forwarding.
Construction of the three-story air hub began in June 2003 and required a unique approach because of limited land and the need to continue operating the original hub throughout the building process. The result was construction of a second building connected to the original facility by two bridges – one 413 feet long and the other 499 feet long – supporting eight conveyors each to move volume back and forth between the two facilities.
The completed hub represents the largest facility investment outside the United States in UPS’s history. UPS operates the world’s ninth largest airline and flies a wide variety of aircraft through Cologne/Bonn.
Founded in 1907, UPS is the world’s largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain services, offering an extensive range of options for synchronizing the flow of goods, information and funds. Headquartered in Atlanta, USA, UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. UPS’s stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (UPS) and the company can be found on the Web at www.ups.com.
