Following similar investments on the U.S. West Coast, UPS announced plans to nearly double the footprint and make sorting technology upgrades at its San Antonio-based ground sorting facility.
Craig Wiltz, president of UPS’ Red River District, said, “population and business growth throughout Texas” were the main drivers for the expansion project. When the project is completed in mid-2017, capacity is expected to grow by nearly 200 percent.
The facility will grow to more than 30,658 square meters, up significantly from the 15,886 square meters it currently utilizes today. Following the expansion, the sortation center will be able to support 340 delivery vehicles, up from a current capacity of 150. UPS will also upgrade scanning systems with six-sided decode tunnels, which obtain information from address labels with greater efficiency. The tunnels will also contain “smart label” applicators to facilitate the flow and loading of local packages.
UPS said it also plans to replace up to 40 diesel tractors with more environmentally friendly compressed natural gas (CNG) tractors. Each of the new tractors, which will be fueled by an on-site CNG fueling station, will displace approximately 25,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year with clean-burning natural gas.
