Worldport (UPS air hub)
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Worldport is the worldwide air hub for UPS (United Parcel Service) located at the Louisville International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky. Although UPS has had a hub at Louisville since 1980, the term was not used officially by the company until 2002, after a $1 billion, five-year expansion.[1] Previously, the project was named "Hub 2000." The facility is currently the size of 80 football fields and capable of handling 84 packages a second, or 304,000 per hour. With over 20,000 employees, UPS is one of the largest employers in Louisville, and in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The facility mainly handles express and international packages and letters. Worldport serves all major domestic and international hubs.
A one million square foot expansion was completed in Spring 2006 to integrate heavy freight into the UPS system. The expansion was prefaced by the purchase of Menlo Worldwide, formerly Emery Worldwide. The new facility, designated "Worldport Freight Facility" (HWP), went online in April of 2006 and was the first of the company's regional hubs to begin integrating the Menlo volume into the system. Menlo's Dayton, OH facility was taken offline in June of 2006.
In May 2006 UPS announced, that for the third time in seven years it would significantly expand its Worldport hub at Louisville International Airport, with a second billion-dollar investment. More than one million square feet will be added to its existing facility, while another 334,500 square-foot space will be renovated with new technology and equipment. Worldport capacity to expand by 60% — from 305,000 packages per hour to 500,000 packages per hour. Additionally, several ramps at the Louisville International Airport will be built or altered bringing a total increase of just over 3,000,000 square-feet. Construction is slated to began in July of 2007, with an anticipated completion date in September 2010.
Since many of the jobs are part time and overnight, UPS has hired mostly college students by offering both nationwide tuition reimbursement and a special program called Metropolitan College, where University of Louisville and Jefferson Community and Technical College students who work part time overnight can receive 100% tuition reimbursement. Currently, over 75% of workers at Worldport are students.
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