UPS has significantly upgraded its US package sorting facility near Columbia Metropolitan Airport, South Carolina, while DHL USA invested $1.5 million in a new service centre in Herndon, Virginia, that will serve the area of northern Virginia known as the “Dulles Corridor.”
The 92,264 sqm facility of UPS in Lexington Country is expected to be operational before the end of the year. It will be equipped with fully automated sorting systems that will move packages through the sort process capturing package data and routing volume to proper load positions.
In addition, 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 and sorters faster instructions of a package’s proper staging location in a UPS truck prior to transport. The facility also includes staging for tractor trailers.
UPS explained that this automation is part of the company’s range of package flow technologies. “UPS is constantly reinvesting in our people and assets to enhance performance throughout our fully-integrated delivery network,” Dwayne C. Meeks, president of UPS’s South Atlantic District, said. “Developing and implementing technology that refines the package sorting process is part of that continual effort.”
On average, UPS Airlines makes ten daily flights to and from Columbia Metropolitan Airport. UPS upgrades facilities like this one throughout its global network, continuously positioning the company to meet customers’ future needs as their businesses grow.
Meanwhile, DHL USA opened its new $1.5 million service centre in Herndon as it expects shipping volume growth in northern Virginia from the region’s technology, public sector and small- to medium-sized businesses.
The 1,672 sqm facility can process more than 2,500 shipments per hour. It is located close to the Washington Dulles International Airport and operates as the local centre for pick-up, delivery and sorting operations of international shipments. The facility complements the operations of the existing DHL service centre facilities in downtown Washington, D.C., and at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
The state-of-the-art facility will handle a variety of shipments, including international small parcels as well as palletised and container freight. It features energy-efficient T-5 lighting and will initially employ more than 40 local staff.
“The Dulles Corridor is a booming market for international commerce and has strong growth potential for years to come,” Greg Hewitt, DHL Area General Manager, Northeast U.S, said. ”This new facility will not only support customer shipment growth, but will allow for earlier delivery times and later drop-off cut-off times for international importers and exporters.”
