UPS Global Air Hub
Makes Kentucky a Logistical Dream
Many states boast of central location. They say they're close
to population centers or major markets or key transportation nodes. Kentucky
can say that too. But Kentucky can take location to a whole new level. As home
to UPS's ever-expanding global air hub, Kentucky is close to the entire world.
Continuing to grow its Kentucky operations at a staggering
pace, UPS announced the second $1 billion expansion in five years of its
Worldport hub in Louisville in May. The latest expansion will increase sorting
capacity by 60 percent and will add 5,000 new employees to the 22,300 already
working in Kentucky for UPS. Construction begins this summer and should be
finished by September 2010.
Nearly 1,100,000 square-feet will be added to its existing
facility, while another 334,500 square-foot space will be renovated with new
technology and equipment. 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.
"We view building our communities to be part of building our
business," said Bob Lekites, UPS's Louisville-based vice president of airline
and international operations. Lekites said UPS has been "extremely pleased
with the support" it had received from both state and local government over the
years.
Two Kentucky incentive programs could provide UPS up to $51.6
million in tax benefits for the expansion. Most will come from the Kentucky
Jobs Development Act, aimed at increasing technology- and service-related
employment in the commonwealth, with the remainder expected to come from the
new Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act, which allows approved companies
investing $500,000 or more to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on the cost of
construction materials, building fixtures and equipment used for research and
development.
Innovative incentives have long played a key role in keeping
the UPS hub humming in the Bluegrass State. One particularly novel program,
launched in 1998, is Metropolitan College, which provides UPS workers a free
education from either the University of Louisville or Jefferson Community and
Technical College. Some 10,000 students have passed through its doors
since its inception.
Economic Development Cabinet Secretary Gene Strong said the
continuing string of UPS expansions was "a powerful testament to Kentucky's
business climate, its workforce, and the cooperation among state and local
leadership and the private sector. We truly have something extraordinary
here in Kentucky because of UPS and we never take that for granted."
An economic impact study by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic
Development shows the latest UPS expansion will have a tremendous effect on
Kentucky's economic pulse. The direct annual economic impact of new full-
and part-time jobs alone will be approximately $344.8 million, plus an
additional $400 million in indirect and induced jobs.
Earlier studies have revealed UPS's impact on Kentucky has been
nothing short of astounding. As Kentucky's largest private employer, the
presence of UPS has been a catalyst for luring more than 90 companies to either
locate or expand their operations in the state over the past five years,
investing more than $1.2 billion and bringing more than 13,300 new jobs.
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