UPS announces $82.5 million expansion in Louisville, Ky.

<p>UPS Inc. on Friday announced an $82.5 million expansion at its Louisville package-sorting hub, accepting a lucrative incentives package offered by Kentucky.</p><p>The expansion will create 720 new jobs initially.</p><p>The world's largest shipping carrier said it will build a 700,000-square-foot facility at the Louisville air hub, its largest, to handle heavy airline freight.</p><p>Just one day earlier, UPS announced it will close its freight sorting hub in Dayton, Ohio, in 2006, eliminating 1,400 jobs. Louisville was among seven cities contending for the expansion.</p><p>"UPS wants to continue to build on the highly successful partnership UPS and Kentucky have long enjoyed," said John Hindman, a UPS Airlines vice president.</p><p>UPS said Kentucky's incentives package, totaling up to $20 million, helped seal the deal.</p><p>The package consists of tax credits based on the number of full-time jobs created.</p><p>The expansion will position Louisville as UPS' main heavy air freight hub.</p><p>UPS said the expansion is expected to create 120 new full-time jobs and 600 part-time jobs at the start of the new operation. Within 10 years, the expansion should create 400 full-time jobs, the company said.</p><p>Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson said in a statement: "I think today's announcement brings a whole new meaning to the ads that say, 'What can brown do for you?'"</p>