FedEx Ground expands in Atlanta

FedEx Ground expands in Atlanta    FedEx Ground will open a second major sort facility in the Atlanta area by the summer of 2006 to keep up with customer demand for its delivery services.
   Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue said FedEx will build the 247,000-square-foot automated facility, capable of handling 15,000 packages per hour,    on a 75-acre site in Kennesaw, Ga. FedEx is expected to convert the facility into a 322,000-square-foot hub in fiscal 2010, doubling its sort capacity.
   The small package delivery unit of FedEx operates a hub in Ellenwood, which recently completed a $21.5 million expansion and upgrade of its handling systems.
   The new facility is part of the company’s $1.8 billion network expansion plan. Rival DHL embarked this year on an ambitious three-year, $1.2 billion expansion plan and has opened several regional hubs in the past few months.
   Tuesday was a big economic development day for Georgia. In addition to the FedEx facility, which will create 475 new jobs, Perdue said Honda plans to build a $100 million plant in Tallapoosa to produce automatic transmissions for Odyssey minivans and Pilot sport utility vehicles.