ATLANTA, Sept. 28, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Today UPS ® (NYSE: UPS) broke ground at an official ceremony for the construction of a new package sorting and delivery center in Bielefeld, Eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The $80 million project, which is scheduled to be operational by the end of October 2017, will replace the existing UPS package center in Herford, Germany. The center is part of UPS’s commitment to invest $2 billion in the company’s European infrastructure through 2019. All 330 Herford employees will have the opportunity to transfer to the new facility when it opens.
“This groundbreaking affirms UPS’s commitment to companies of all sizes in the region and our trust in the German economy,” said Frank Sportolari, president, UPS Germany. “This investment secures strategic future development opportunities for UPS and our customers in Eastern North-Rhine Westphalia. Operations in Bielefeld are scheduled to start in October 2017 in order for us to be ready in time for the Christmas season.”
The Bielefeld facility will have an operating area of approximately 15,000 square meters and will be equipped with automated sorting systems capable of processing more than 22,500 packages per hour. The facility will have 65 loading and unloading bays for containers and 115 parking positions for UPS delivery trucks.
“This is an important investment in Bielefeld as a key location for business and logistics. We are happy that existing employment in the region will be preserved and that there is the prospect for creating new jobs,” said Pit Clausen, lord mayor of Bielefeld.
“North Rhine-Westphalia is the number one logistics area in Germany,” said Michael Groschek, transport minister of North Rhine-Westphalia. “The fact that a company like UPS is investing millions in Bielefeld shows the attractiveness of our state for the logistics industry. It also indicates that this industry sector is an important growth engine for us.”
UPS has been serving customers in Germany for 40 years and today employs more than 18,000 people at 83 facilities across the country. In 1976, UPS made its first foray outside of North America into Germany which was its entry point into the European market. Today, Germany is UPS’s largest market outside of the United States.
About UPS
UPS (NYSE: UPS) is a global leader in logistics, offering a broad range of solutions including transporting packages and freight, facilitating international trade, and deploying advanced technology to more efficiently manage the world of business. Headquartered in Atlanta, USA, UPS serves more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. The company can be found on the web at ups.com ® and its corporate blog can be found at Longitudes.ups.com . To get UPS news direct, please visit pressroom.ups.com .
Natalie Godwin-Norrington 404-828-7123 ngodwin@ups.com
