Richmond, BC — UPS Canada has officially opened its new regional hub at Vancouver International Airport (YVR).

Joined by local dignitaries, including Mayor of Richmond BC, Malcolm Brodie, the opening of UPS’s 125,000 square-foot facility is the most recent addition to the company’s domestic and international expansion.

“The $32 million investment in the Vancouver region demonstrates UPS’s commitment to British Columbia and to the continued strengthening of our network around the world – offering customers faster, enhanced, global service,” says UPS Canada President Alan Gershenhorn. “The leading edge facility enables us to meet the future demands of a growing economy driven by international trade.”

The new YVR hub is the first fully integrated international export, import and domestic air and ground operation in Canada. Typically, air, ground, import, export and domestic operations are separate processes. However, in the new Vancouver facility, these functions are all fully integrated and operate concurrently, eliminating what would have been additional package handling.

Specifically, it allows UPS to serve its customers in an integrated fashion regardless of transportation mode, package origin or destination. This integrated approach further enables it to provide customers with earlier delivery times and more flexible pick up times, UPS officials said.

Serving as the primary dispatch terminal for Vancouver-based UPS package drivers, the facility is home to more than 400 employees and over 70 delivery vehicles. Coupled with over four kilometres of conveyor belts, the operation is also one of the first in Canada to use new radio frequency scanners, which provide the ability to obtain detailed package information. This technology enables employees to make a better determination of where a package should be routed.