UPS Unveils State-Of-The-Art Package Hub in Maple Grove, Minnesota
UPS today unveiled its new automated package distribution hub in Maple Grove. The facility features new technologies for material handling and one of the most sophisticated sorting systems ever constructed.
The 335,000-square-foot building, located on 56 acres at 8601 Valley Forge Lane in Hennepin County, can sort 20,000 packages an hour or more than five per second. It will be home to 272 delivery vehicles when at full capacity, and will house a retail customer counter starting in 2003.
The new hub takes full advantage of the latest technologies to speed the sorting of “smart” packages and to reduce the physical workload for employees. It also has served as a special technology testbed, since many of its systems now will be deployed in other package centers.
Packages will move through Maple Grove’s maze of automated, high-speed sorting systems in as little as eight minutes from in-bound truck to out-bound truck. Packages with “smart labels” – barcoded labels containing electronic information about the size, weight and destination of a package – immediately run through a scanner where information about the package is captured by high-speed computers.
UPS’s internally developed software then uses that information to electronically guide the package through the facility, directing it to the proper truck for delivery. The software, designed to work in any automated UPS facility, even indicates the precise spot on the truck where the package should be placed to ensure efficient delivery.
The system is tremendously flexible. The Maple Grove hub will be able to easily adjust, for example, to the increased demands of UPS’s peak holiday season when package volume increases by as much as 40 percent.
“By strategically building our Maple Grove facility in the fastest-growing corridor of the Twin Cities, UPS is better equipped to offer local customers the highest quality of service possible,” said Calvin Darden, UPS Senior Vice President, U.S. Operations. “UPS also is known for its commitment to community. We engaged the Midwest Division of local contractor Kraus-Anderson Construction Company, recently recognized for outstanding support of equal opportunities for minority and women-based enterprises, as the primary contractor."
With close to 4,000 employees in the Twin Cities area, and up to 825 serving the new Maple Grove hub, UPS will continue to help local companies such as The Sportsman's Guide, Best Buy and Department 56 remain competitive. In preparation for the peak holiday season, UPS is expecting to hire an additional 650 employees in the region.
Many Twin Cities-area employees benefit from UPS’s Earn and Learn Program, through which qualified students are eligible to receive US$1,500 per semester and US$3,000 per calendar year in assistance, with a lifetime maximum of US$15,000. Part-time management employees can receive up to US$4,000 per calendar year, with a lifetime maximum of US$20,000.
UPS offers customers 688 drop-off locations with convenient access to other UPS services. In addition to the Maple Grove facility, UPS operates four additional package distribution centers and maintains an air gateway at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. There are also 54 Mail Boxes Etc., UPS's retail subsidiary, within Minnesota.
UPS, the world's largest express carrier and largest package delivery company, offers an unmatched array of traditional and electronic commerce services. UPS leverages its multi-billion dollar IT infrastructure, including a staggering 74-terrabyte database of customer and package information and the world's largest private cellular network, to help customers around the globe precisely manage the flow of goods, information and funds.
The Atlanta-based company operates in more than 200 countries and territories and employs 360,000 people worldwide. In 2001, UPS generated revenues of US$30.3 billion and delivered more than 3.4 billion packages and documents worldwide. UPS has won numerous awards for its IT infrastructure, including InfoWorld's Top 100 and Computerworld's Top 25 Wireless Innovators.
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For more information, contact:
Laurie Mallis
UPS Public Relations
[email protected]
404-828-7183
