MISSISSAUGA, Ontario – “It’s like watching a child taking its first steps,” are the words that come to mind when Gordon Reed is asked how he feels about seeing UPS Canada’s largest package sorting and delivery facility up and running.
As the director for special projects in UPS’s industrial engineering department, Gordon has spent a lot of work and long hours getting the massive, 850,000 square foot facility in Caledon, Ontario online. “This project is close to my heart and our whole team is so proud that we could get this facility operational in time when it is most needed.”
The new hub has begun operations in anticipation for the annual increase in volume that will start around Cyber Week and continue through January 2021. Part of a $500 million Canada investment plan announced in 2018, the facility employs advanced scanning and sortation technology, integrated with data-driven tools.
The most sophisticated of UPS Canada’s hubs, it can process 35,000 packages an hour, with 35 inbound dock doors and 116 outbound doors. It will be served by a fleet of 200 of the distinctive UPS brown package trucks. UPS estimates that it will be at 60 percent capacity this holiday season.
Pressed into service
This is not the first time the Caledon hub has started operations. It was partially opened for the 2019 holiday season, to help keep up with last year’s e-commerce surge.
“This year has not been without its challenges and we want to make sure we do our part to reduce the stress of the coming holidays as much as possible for all Canadians,” said Dominic Porporino, president of UPS Canada.
“We anticipate a record breaking holiday season, but this new hub – our flagship facility – and the dedicated people that operate it, are ready to serve Canadians when they need it the most.”
UPS expects to hire over 100,000 seasonal employees globally this year. In Canada, more than 5,000 new employees will be hired in both full and part-time positions.
Earlier this year, UPS also opened a 180,000 square foot expansion at its Montreal facility and, in November 2018, the company unveiled a new facility in Kanata, Ontario and has expanded its package centres in Brampton and London, Ontario and Edmonton, Alberta.
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