UPS to Expand Its Regional Hub at Texas Airport

United Parcel Service announced that it will expand its Southwestern region air hub by building a $21-million, 250,000-square-foot package handling facility at Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport.

Construction will begin in the fall of next year on 61 acres. The facility is scheduled to open in June, 1994.

Company officials said the hub will employ about 600 people, with a planned expansion to 1,000 by 1997.

The Greenwich, Conn.-based company said the selection of Dallas-Ft. Worth ended a three-year search in Texas and Oklahoma for an airport site where the UPS regional air and local ground delivery operations could be consolidated.

Mike Briggs, Southwest region manager, said that the existing Dallas-Ft. Worth building used by UPS has served as the regional hub for more than one year and that the company needs to expand to meet customer needs.

The Dallas-Ft. Worth hub is one of four UPS facilities and will handle 28 daily flights.

Initially, the company said, 50 to 70 drivers will be assigned to the facility. When fully operational, up to 150 drivers will serve local delivery needs from Dallas-Ft. Worth.

UPS also will construct a separate 15,000-square-foot building for air-freight services.

UPS, which serves all 50 states and more than 180 countries and territories, handled about 2.8 billion packages and documents last year, resulting in revenue of more than $12 billion.