As part of an ongoing national expansion plan, FedEx Ground, the small-package ground delivery unit of FedEx Corp., this week celebrated the opening of a major distribution hub in Chicago, increasing the company’s presence in the Chicagoland area. The new 430,000-square-foot operation, located in Bedford Park, is adjacent to the company’s original Chicago hub.
The company says the new distribution facility, which is nearly double in size, will provide increased processing rates of up to 30,000 packages per hour, additional load and unload doors, more scan tunnels and sorters, all of which will better serve the increasing customer base in the Chicago area. In conjunction with this major investment, the move will create more than 30 new positions, increasing the hub work force from 860 employees and independent contractors to nearly 900.
“Enhancing our distribution capability in the central region is an important step in our ongoing efforts to increase the size, speed and efficiency of our network,” says Jim Primm, vice president of the central division of FedEx Ground. “This new facility demonstrates the region’s ongoing importance as a major distribution and logistics center, and will help us meet the increasing demand of local shippers as we transport shipments within the Chicago area and across the country.”
The new FedEx Ground hub is part of the company’s nationwide network expansion to boost daily package volume capacity and further enhance the speed and service capabilities of its network. Since embarking on the multiyear expansion program in 2002, FedEx Ground has opened seven new hubs featuring advanced material handling systems and has expanded and/or relocated more than 500 local facilities.
In addition to the new Chicago hub, there are eight other FedEx Ground facilities operating in the area, with the most recent additions being automated facilities in McCook and Wheeling.
