UPS announces $82.5 million expansion in Louisville, Ky.

<p>UPS Inc. on Friday announced an $82.5 million expansion at its Louisville air hub, accepting a $20 million incentives package from Kentucky a day after the shipping giant served notice of plans to close its freight sorting hub in Ohio.</p><p>The world's largest shipping carrier said it will build a 785,257-square-foot heavy air service hub at its Louisville operations next to the city's main airport.</p><p>The expansion will create 720 new jobs initially. The operation's work force is expected to reach 400 full-time and 600 part-time jobs within 10 years after the hub opens. The Atlanta-based shipper already employs about 7,000 people at its Louisville hub, its largest.</p><p>"Kentucky is a place we like to be," John Hindman, a UPS Airlines vice president, in making the announcement at the Kentucky Capitol, 50 miles east of Louisville.</p><p>"You all run that wonderful commercial, `What can Brown do for you.' Look what Brown has done for the commonwealth of Kentucky and for my hometown," Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson said.</p><p>On Thursday, 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>Kentucky offered up to $20 million in tax benefits to lure the UPS expansion. To achieve the full benefits, the shipping company must create at least 400 new full-time jobs within 10 years of the heavy air freight hub's opening, said Mark Giuffre, a UPS spokesman.</p><p>No date has been set for the opening, he said.</p><p>Gov. Ernie Fletcher said the expansion was good news for all of Kentucky. "If something good happens in one part of the state, it's good for the entire state," he said.</p><p>Hindman said the company was grateful for the state incentives package, and predicted the tax break will "repay itself many times over through job growth for Kentuckians."</p><p>UPS reviewed its existing air hubs in searching for a hub for heavy freight operations, Hindman said. While negotiating with Kentucky officials, UPS did not request offers from other states with operations, he said.</p><p>The new hub will handle shipments weighing more than 150 pounds.</p><p>"It will help UPS create a new heavy air freight service and offer customers yet another option in our comprehensive ... services," Hindman said.</p>

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