UPS Global Air Hub hailed for technological advancements

UPS has received the inaugural American Business Award for "Most Innovative Company" for the technological advancements of its Worldport global air hub in Louisville, Ky.

UPS was selected from 18 finalists for its outstanding leadership, innovation, perseverance, creativity, teamwork and integrity at companies of all sizes.

Completed in September 2002, the expansion of the all-points air facility is the largest capital project in UPS’s 96-year history. The $1.1 billion expansion was a seven-year project. The addition more than doubled the size of the sorting complex to 4 million square feet, which is the equivalent of more than 80 football fields. The automation technology of Worldport increased the package sorting capacity to 304,000 packages per hour, or more than 84 packages every second. Still, UPS is capable of expanding the system to process up to 500,000 packages per hour.

Customers’ express shipments speed through 122 miles of conveyors enough to stretch from Louisville to Cincinnati in as little as eight minutes. Throughout the journey, a sophisticated system of cameras read the detailed information encoded in UPS “smart labels,” triggering a network of computer-activated sorting and tracking devices that process some 59 million database transactions every hour. The system not only provides split-second visibility of packages, but also reduces manual package handling from six times to only two.

The American Business Awards are overseen by distinguished board of leading business executives, authors and academics. Sponsors include BusinessTalkRadio, DHR International, Empire Media, Forbes, Hoover’s Online, Inc. magazine, Miller Heiman, Selling Power magazine, and Wired magazine.