Dozens of distinctive FedEx fleet trucks now enter and exit the newly constructed 27,700-square-foot distribution center, which just opened this past month in Prescott.
Access to the facility located at 2980 Centerpointe Drive is from the roundabout intersection of Pioneer Parkway and Larry Caldwell Drive northwest of Prescott.
The new facility replaced an existing much smaller structure located in Dewey.
The reason for that expansion?
“The doubling of package volume for FedEx Ground in the last decade,” said Nikki Mendicino, communications coordinator for FedEx Ground. “Our new center will allow us to to continue to meet and exceed customer demands in the area. “
She continued, “Development of the facility is part of a nationwide network expansion plan. In the past five years, FedEx Ground has invested $3 billion for growth.”
Distribution Center Different from Publicly Accessible Locations
Unlike FedEx Offices and FedEx Authorized Shop Centers, which are publicly accessible, the Prescott distribution center is not open to the public. Instead, it will accommodate 18 employees whose jobs are to identify, handle, sort and ship up to 3,000 packages an hour.
The large, gray, flat-roofed center, located on several acres encircled by high mesh fences, is easily visible to the south of Pioneer Parkway. It has office spaces, mechanized package sorting, and several docking bays and expansive paved parking areas for the variety of trucks that are unloaded or loaded daily.
Patrick Sturgis, senior manager, will administratively supervise the work of other management personnel and package handlers. In addition, the center will contract with local independent businesses that employ their own drivers, managers and other staff to provide pickup and delivery.
Excluding holidays, the center normally will operate from 4:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Monday through Friday; and 4:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Saturday.
The center will service all of Yavapai County, she indicated.
Mendicino, whose office is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said the decision to construct the modern multi-acre facility at the northeastern side of Prescott followed analysis of continuing growth in the region.
“We have opened 11 new hubs and expanded or relocated more than 500 local facilities to account for this tremendous national growth. The Prescott facility is a part of the larger FedEx Ground network of more than 560 centers,” she said.
Prescott Center a Player in the Worldwide FedEx Corporation
Mendicino explained that the Prescott facility is linked to the local pick-up and delivery stations, 560 distribution hubs and 42,000 motorized vehicles that comprise FedEx Ground.
Daily, “FedEx Ground distributes approximately 6.9 million packages in just the United States and Canada,” she said.
She also explained that FedEx Ground is one of four operating companies within the mother company of Fed Ex Corporation. Fed Ex is a syllabic abbreviation of the original name used in 1973 – Federal Express.
Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, it is an American-owned global courier delivery service which provides customers and businesses worldwide with a portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services.
“With annual revenues of about $47 billion, our company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively under the FedEx brand,” Mendicino said.
Operating internationally, one division of the corporation is Fed Ex Express. It provides overnight air service within the United States and some foreign nations. Fed Ex Express operates one of the largest civilian aircraft operations in the world and claims to carry more freight than any other airline.
She added the company will continue to invest strategically in its network, including Prescott, to boost daily package volume capacity and further enhance the speed and service capabilities of the FedEx Ground network. QCBN
Photo: With the capability to handle up to 3,000 packages an hour, the recently constructed and newly opened FedEx Ground distribution center has 18 employees who handle tons of freight daily.
Photo by Ray Newton
By Ray Newton,
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