United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS), the world’s largest package delivery company, will increase its presence in Louisville with as many as 300 new full- and part-time jobs through a nearly $310 million investment in its ground shipping operation, Gov. Steve Beshear and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced today.
“UPS, a great corporate partner of the Commonwealth, understands strategic location as well as any company,” said Gov. Beshear. “Its investment to expand in Kentucky represents a great amount of data, research and confidence in our state as a premier location for business. While the company’s air presence in Louisville gets considerable attention, this major project for the UPS Centennial Ground Hub underscores the important and pivotal role ground operations also play in package delivery.”
The more than 580,000-square-foot expansion of the UPS Centennial Ground Hub facility in Louisville comes in response to increased e-commerce and traditional retail package volume.
The project will roughly double the company’s current sorting capacity and add additional sorting automation equipment, including automated conveyor systems, six-sided address label decode tunnels and label applicators.
The hub’s proximity to the UPS Worldport at the Louisville International Airport allows UPS to provide end-of-runway express service to its customers in Louisville and surrounding areas.
Construction will begin in 2016 and is expected to finish by 2019. The project will not affect pickup and delivery operations.
“Expanding and upgrading our Centennial facility represents a continued commitment to our customers,” said Lou Rivieccio, president of the UPS Ohio Valley District. “We are excited about leveraging the capabilities of this larger facility as our business in Kentucky continues to grow, and we are grateful to the Commonwealth for their support of this expansion.”
“Much like how UPS revolutionized package delivery with the expansion of Worldport in 1999, this new, highly-automated ground sort facility will allow UPS to increase capacity to meet the needs of the growing e-commerce economy,” said Mayor Fischer. “This expansion reaffirms UPS’ dedication to the Louisville market and I commend them for their ongoing investment in the next generation of advanced logistics solutions.”
UPS, founded in 1907, is headquartered in Atlanta. In 1975, UPS became the first private shipping company to serve every address in the lower 48 states. The Louisville Centennial Hub opened in 2008. Louisville is a vital point in the UPS express network with approximately 2 million packages moving through the city each day to destinations in more than 220 countries and territories around the world.
Kentucky’s logistical strength is ideal for companies like UPS’ ground and air shipping operations. The Commonwealth has 19 interstates and major highways and five commercial airports, as well as dozens of regional airports across the state.
“UPS has been a good corporate partner in Jefferson County. This expansion speaks highly of our skilled and dedicated workforce,” said Sen. Perry B. Clark, of Louisville. “Our community welcomes these new jobs and looks forward to the company’s continued success.”
“I’m extremely pleased to see UPS take this step and invest even further in our community and its second-to-none workforce,” said Rep. Jeff Donohue, of Fairdale. “It is difficult to overstate just how much of a positive impact this company has had here. I want to thank its leaders as well as Gov. Beshear, his administration and our local officials for working together to help make this possible. This is a great day for Louisville and the surrounding region.”
UPS was preliminarily approved by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority for $1.75 million in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act (KEIA). KEIA allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing.
UPS also is eligible to receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network. Through the Kentucky Skills Network, companies are eligible to receive no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job training incentives. Last year, the Kentucky Skills Network trained more than 84,000 employees from more than 5,600 Kentucky companies.
