UPS to open up El Paso-based operations center by late 2018

UPS said this week it is developing a new $41 million package operations center in El Paso, Texas that will support commercial and residential commerce in the North American Borderplex, which, it defined as a manufacturing region across Texas, New Mexico, and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. And it added that this area is comprised of 2.5 million people and is one of the largest global bilingual work forces.

The new operations center will add more than 153,000 square-feet of new processing capacity, with operations expected to begin in late 2018, said UPS. This multi-year investment is a key facet of UPS’s multi-year smart global logistics network initiative, focusing on connecting businesses and economies through cross-border trade. What’s more, going back to 2016, UPS has rolled out plans for 16 new and expanded U.S.-based facilities that will add more 8,650 full- and part-time jobs.

A UPS spokeswoman told LM that the main objective of the Smart Global Logistics Network is to digitally connect the entire company’s facility, fleet and information systems using real-time data, artificial intelligence, machine learning and autonomous devices to optimize tracking and processing of packages and freight; and to synchronize control of transportation fleet assets.

As for the biggest benefits of the El Paso facility for UPS shippers she pointed to the expansion of small package processing capacity in El Paso by more than 153,000 square-feet, combined with the advanced operational technology being deployed, increases flexibility, and efficiency for UPS business and residential customers.  

Types of shippers that will benefit from this facility, cited by UPS, include: automotive, electronics, appliances, and machinery producers, with UPS explaining they will benefit from enhanced delivery speed and accuracy from the new El Paso center’s advanced package scanning and sortation equipment. And the company added that the advanced technology also features increased flexibility to more efficiently route packages through UPS’s smart global logistics network.

UPS also noted that the El Paso facility will support the company’s UPS Trade Direct Cross Border service, which simplifies the cross-border trade process for U.S. companies exporting to multiple consignees in Mexico and Mexican companies exporting to multiple consignees in the U. S., helping cross-border commerce customers to be more competitive.

“El Paso is the gateway to one of the most important industrial corridors in the U.S. – Mexico trade lane. UPS is one of the pistons helping drive the economic growth engine in this community,” said Craig Wiltz, president of UPS’s Red River District that includes Texas and Oklahoma. “The new building positions UPS to increasingly support U.S. companies growing their cross-border commerce, as well as better serve the rapidly changing business and residential needs of our customers in West Texas.”