UPS Named ‘Most Innovative Company’ By American Business Awards
UPS (NYSE: UPS) received the inaugural American Business Award for “Most Innovative Company” for the technological advancements of its WorldportSM global air hub in Louisville, Ky.
UPS was selected from 18 finalists for its outstanding leadership, innovation, perseverance, creativity, teamwork and integrity at companies of all sizes.
“Worldport exemplifies the amazing technological capabilities of UPS, which enable us to move our customers’ critical business information around the world as precisely as we move their goods,” said Jack Blaisdell, UPS Worldport program manager, who oversaw the seven-year, US$1.1 billion expansion of the Louisville facility.
Completed in September 2002, the expansion of the all-points air facility is the largest capital project in UPS’s 96-year history. The addition more than doubled the size of the sorting complex to 4 million square feet, which is the equivalent of more than 80 football fields. The automation technology of Worldport increased the package sorting capacity to 304,000 packages per hour, or more than 84 packages every second. Still, UPS is capable of expanding the system to process up to 500,000 packages per hour.
Customers’ express shipments speed through 122 miles of conveyors – enough to stretch from Louisville to Cincinnati – in as little as eight minutes. Throughout the journey, a sophisticated system of cameras read the detailed information encoded in UPS “smart labels,” triggering a network of computer-activated sorting and tracking devices that process some 59 million database transactions every hour. The system not only provides split-second visibility of packages, but also reduces manual package handling from six times to only two.
The American Business Awards are overseen by distinguished board of leading business executives, authors and academics. Sponsors include BusinessTalkRadio, DHR International, Empire Media, Forbes, Hoover’s Online, Inc. magazine, Miller Heiman, Selling Power magazine, and Wired magazine. Nicknamed the “Stevies” for the Greek word “crowned,” the awards were presented on Wednesday, April 30, in New York City.
UPS is the world’s largest transportation company and a global leader in supply chain services, offering an extensive range of options for synchronizing the movement of goods, information and funds. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., 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 UPS.com.
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For more information, contact:
Steve Holmes
UPS
sholmes@ups.com
404-828-7391
Mike Slatin
Fleishman-Hillard
slatinm@fleishman.com
314-982-8661
