Holiday Media Tour with Photo Opportunity

WHAT:
Santa isn’t the only one delivering packages during the holidays! You’re invited to take a look at the latest technology that helps the Postal Service (and Santa) get your holiday packages to their destination. Remember, the deadline for mailing parcel post is Dec. 15 and the busiest mailing day is expected to be Dec. 17.

WHEN:
Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2006
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

WHERE:
Bulk Mail Center
5800 Phantom Dr.
Hazelwood, MO 63042-24587

WHO:
Allen Bedwell
Industrial Engineer and Automated Parcel Sorting System expert

WHY:
During the holiday season, the Postal Service will process 175,000 to over 200,000 parcels per day in St. Louis with the help of the latest in processing technology.

Over 5,000 parcels per hour may be inducted into the parcel sorting machines through the Singulator Scan Induction Unit (SSIU). As the packages enter the singulator area, they are aligned single file and sent through a dimensioning unit where the parcel’s weight and external dimensions are registered.

The parcel’s barcode or address is read as it passes through an Omni scan tunnel and the package is sent via an automated tray line to a specific container for transportation to its destination.

# # #

Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/news.

An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation, 146 million homes and businesses, six days a week. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.