by , @gesinfk –

UPS unveiled its vision a year ago for investing $310 million to expand their sprawling ground shipping hub in southern Louisville.

On Thursday, company executives and three top political leaders will gather to break ground for the expansion and modernization and discuss more details of the project. The growth is expected to add 300 new full- and part-time jobs in the next 18 month or so.

A big jump in e-commerce and retail package deliveries led UPS to draft plans to grow  its Centennial hub at 8100 Air Commerce Drive, off Outer Loop, by more than 580,000 square feet. It’s located about 2 miles south of the company’s Worldport facility.

“UPS is one of the major economic engines in the city and state,” Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said in a release Thursday morning. “We are pleased that the company is continuing to invest to ensure outstanding service for shippers large and small.”

UPDATES FROM THE ANNOUNCEMENT:

►$300+ million expansion will triple size of packaging facility to 838,000 square feet

►The expansion will create 300 new full- and part-time jobs

►It will nearly double the current sorting capacity to 85,000 packages per hour

►Six-sided decode tunnels will replace traditional scanning to capture information from address labels

The Centennial hub, constructed in 2007 during UPS’s 100th anniversary year, provides pickup and delivery operations for customers in Louisville and surrounding counties and serves as a transfer point for trailers moving to destinations beyond Kentucky.  With its proximity to UPS Worldport air hub at Louisville International Airport, it also supports end-of-runway express service by allowing packages to be inserted into the Worldport air operations as late as 1:30 a.m.

“Centennial offers UPS customers the advantage of being at the center of the world’s largest package delivery company,” said Lou Rivieccio, president of UPS’s Ohio Valley District. “This project is a win for everyone involved. It will benefit our customers, generate jobs, and enhance economic development in Louisville and the surrounding region.  It is one of UPS’s most important facilities.”

The expansion will take place in three phases and continue through 2020. In addition to increasing the building’s footprint, the project will modernize the hub’s conveyor technology, enhancing the flow of packages through the building, and increasing accuracy during sorting. The automated conveyors will move packages through the sorting process while capturing data used to route packages to the proper location for loading on outbound vehicles.

When the building first opened in May of 2008, sorting capacity was 40,000 packages per hour. The expansion of enhanced technology in the facility will increase capacity to 85,000 packages per hour, improving both reliability and quality of service provided to UPS customers.

“This expansion by UPS, a premier global shipping and logistics company, will continue improving speed, service and volume for UPS customers while strengthening Kentucky’s already significant distribution and logistics industry,” said Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin in the release.

Six-sided decode tunnels will replace traditional scanning to capture package information from address labels.  Label applicators will place “smart labels” on packages for local delivery, providing UPS loaders faster instruction of a package’s proper staging location in a UPS vehicle prior to transport.

This will improve accuracy and package integrity, while minimizing time in transit for UPS customers.

“The UPS hubs in Louisville have attracted dozens of businesses to the region that rely on fast and accurate shipping,” Bevin said.  “The additional capacity and hundreds of new jobs this expansion at the Centennial Ground Hub will create will help UPS play an even greater role in Kentucky’s economic development future. On behalf of my administration and the people of Kentucky, I want to thank UPS for its continued commitment to the Commonwealth.”

The Centennial facility handles 2 million packages daily arriving by truck and air. Many large retail companies used to fly a shipment into Worldport and have UPS sort and ship the parcels, but in recent years, many e-commerce retailers have shifted to regional distributions centers like those around Southern Indiana and Bullitt County, where the parcels are trucked directly to Centennial for sorting and shipping.

The hub also offers what the logistics industry refers to as “end of the runway service.” Express packages are routed to Worldport 2 miles to the north as late as midnight (or later in some instance) and still hit a delivery commitment for the next day.

This story will be updated.

Reporter Grace Schneider can be reached at 502-582-4082 or [email protected].