FedEx Ground Receives Award for Development of Once Contaminated Property

JOC Staff |
FedEx Ground, the small-package ground unit of FedEx Corp., has been awarded an Oregon Brownfield Award for the work done in transforming a former brownfield site in Troutdale, Ore. into a $129 million state-of-the-art package sortation hub set to open in the late summer.

The third annual award was presented on April 6 at the 2010 Oregon Brownfields Conference sponsored by Business Oregon and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

The new FedEx Ground hub is located on 78 acres within the Port of Portland’s 693 acre Troutdale Reynolds Industrial Park that was once the home of a Reynolds Metals aluminum smelter. The first occupant in the industrial park, FedEx Ground is returning a once contaminated parcel to productive use.

“We view the new Troutdale hub as a win-win for us and the community at large because a site that was unproductive for years will soon be home to a 400,000 square foot, state-of-the art operation,” said John Hiltz, vice president of the western region for FedEx Ground. “At FedEx Ground we are committed to meeting customer expectations at every turn and to providing our workforce the safest possible working environment.”

FedEx Ground faced several construction challenges in developing a property with prior contamination. Most notable was building the facility above grade on a network of 1,700 piles driven 65 feet into the ground. FedEx also pressure tested the stormwater system to ensure structural integrity and conformance with an existing ground water remediation system. The company worked closely with the Port of Portland, the city of Troutdale, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The hub, which is in the final stages of construction, is scheduled to open in August and is expected to eventually have a workforce of more than 1,000 people including part-time and full-time employees as well as independent contractors and their employees.

About FedEx Ground
FedEx Ground specializes in cost-effective, small-package ground shipping, offering dependable business-to-business delivery or convenient residential service. With a network of more than 500 distribution hubs and local pickup-and-delivery terminals, FedEx Ground has a workforce of more than 70,000 employees and independent contractors who utilize 20,000 motorized vehicles to deliver more than 3.5 million packages daily throughout the United States and Canada. The company reported annual revenue of $7 billion in fiscal year 2009.

About FedEx Corporation
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenues of $33 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 280,000 team members to remain absolutely, positively focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. For more information, visit news.fedex.com