San Francisco and Los Angeles International Service Centers to be awarded

The U.S. Postal Service’s San Francisco and Los Angeles International Service Centers (ISC) are being recognized for achieving the highest international standards of excellence in mail processing.

Each center will receive a Certificate of Excellence from the International Post Corporation (IPC), a cooperative association of 23 national postal administrations and operators from North America, Europe and the Pacific. The Certificate of Excellence is awarded only to international mail facilities that demonstrate top levels of quality, efficiency and teamwork while meeting customer needs.

“The Postal Service is proud of this recognition and the ISC employees who made it possible,” said USPS Managing Director, Global Business, and Senior Vice President Paul Vogel. “We strive for excellence throughout our operations. The certification proves that our commitment is paying off — for us, for our international partner postal operators, and most of all, for our customers.”

Achieving certification is a year-long process including on-site reviews by the IPC to verify compliance with more than 140 items. Certification is awarded for a three-year period, with continual IPC validation that performance levels are maintained.

IPC President and Chief Executive Officer Herbert-Michael Zapf will travel from Belgium to present the award and recognize ISC employees for their dedication in achieving this prestigious international status.

The San Francisco ISC employs more than 500 people and processes more than 150 million pieces of mail per year. More than 300 people work at the Los Angeles ISC, processing more than 54 million pieces of mail per year. Events to mark the certifications will be held at 9 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, in San Francisco and at 9 a.m. Friday, Feb. 16, in Los Angeles.

In addition to the California sites, the Postal Service operates three other ISCs. The Chicago J.T. Weeker ISC was certified in 2004, the New York (JFK) ISC was certified in 2006, and the Miami ISC is expected to attain certification in March 2007.