UPS plans $260M logistics facility in Plainfield, 578 jobs

United Parcel Service Inc., the world’s largest package-delivery company, is set to spend more than $260 million to build a massive new logistics hub in Plainfield that will create as many as 578 jobs by the end of 2023.

UPS and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. announced plans for the 893,000-square-foot package-handling ground hub Tuesday morning.

UPS said construction has started on a 91-acre site on Bradford Road, with plans to begin some operations there later this year.

The overall project will include upgrades to existing UPS facilities on West 81st Street, West 16th Street and East 86th Street. When completed in fall 2019, the facility is expected to offer UPS “new efficiencies and flexibility for processing capacity across its Indianapolis campuses," UPS said.

The IEDC is offering UPS up to $200,000 in training grants and as much as $7.5 million in conditional tax credits based on the job-creation plans. The incentives hinge on the company’s ability to meet hiring goals.

The town of Plainfield will consider additional incentives at the request of the Hendricks County Economic Development Partnership.

UPS said it will begin hiring for package-handling and driver positions this fall. Initially, new workers will be trained at the company’s other Indianapolis facilities and transferred as operations begin at the new facility.

The new positions are expected to pay about $64,000 annually, about 45 percent more than the state’s average wage.

Atlanta-based UPS has small-package, heavy-freight and contract-logistics facilities across Indiana and already employs more than 9,500 Hoosiers.

“This major investment by UPS is more evidence that Indiana is a global logistics powerhouse,” Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a written statement. “Our state’s top-ranked infrastructure network has been key to growing our economy—especially in the manufacturing and logistics sector.”

The Indianapolis area was an early market for UPS’s rollout of new Saturday ground delivery, which began in April. Additionally, Indiana was one of UPS’s first Midwest locations for the expansion of natural-gas fueling for its tractor trailers, which began in 2013.

The company said it is evaluating infrastructure availability for alternative fuels at the new building.

The facility will add to Plainfield's reputation as a Midwest distribution center. The hub's additional capacity will give the town more than 40 million square feet of warehouse space, Plainfield Town Council President Robin Brandgard said.

The goal is to have part of the hub open this fall for trailer processing, allowing it to "dispatch the familiar brown trucks in time for the busy holiday season," UPS said.

Eventually, the new center will contain a UPS Customer Center. The facility is expected to give UPS "new flexibility for routing through its network," it said.

"Advanced package scanning and sortation equipment will allow flexibility to make dynamic changes as volume is routed through complex systems of conveyors and belts in the building or directed in transit to other area facilities," the company said. "Customers will benefit from speed and processing accuracy that can scale daily fluctuations or manage a surge from the latest promotion or change due to weather contingencies."