Consultants Forum Advertise
Subscribe
Close

  • Free for qualified executives and consultants to industry

  • Receive quarterly issues of Area Development Magazine and special market report and directory issues

Subscribe Now
Renew

Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

United Parcel Service Invests $310 Million To Expand Louisville, Kentucky, Centennial Ground Hub

10/30/2015
United Parcel Service Inc., the world’s largest package delivery company, will increase its presence in Louisville, Kentucky. The company will hire as many as 300 new full- and part-time jobs through a nearly $310 million investment in its ground shipping operation.

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.”

As an incentive, 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 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.

“UPS, a great corporate partner of the Commonwealth, understands strategic location as well as any company,” said Governor Steve 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.”

“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 Greg 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.”

Exclusive Research