Oak Park Welcomes Fedex’s Distribution Center On Former Armory Site

Story by Sara E. Teller

FedEx Ground, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., recently opened a 304 thousand square foot distribution center in Oak Park, as part of a larger, nationwide expansion plan. The facility took about 18 months to build. The primary purpose for expanding was to accommodate a growing need for FedEx Ground services, which has doubled in volume over the past ten years. The new site offered a boost to Oak Park’s commerce and career opportunities for its residents.

FedEx is a leader in cost-effective package ground shipping, offering service to businesses and residential customers throughout the U.S. and Canada. “All shipments move via trucks across the country to and from a network of 590 facilities,” explained David Westrick of the FedEx Ground Media Relations team. Westrick explained the strategic process that went into selecting the perfect location for the center and why the site of the former Detroit Artillery Armory was eventually chosen.

“As we always do for projects of this size, we conducted an exhaustive search for the right location. The site [of the former Detroit Artillery Armory] was chosen because of its ease of access to major highways, proximity to customers’ distribution centers and a strong local community workforce for recruiting employees,” Westrick said. “The new facility is part of a nationwide network expansion to boost daily package volume capacity and further enhance the speed and service capabilities of the FedEx Ground network. Since 2005, the company has opened 15 new hubs featuring advanced material-handling systems, and expanded or relocated more than 500 local facilities.”

Keyon Laws is the senior manager of the Oak Park FedEx Ground distribution center, which covers 54 of the former Artillery site’s 100 acres. Laws loves the warm and welcoming façade of Oak Park. He said, “The Oak Park community has been exceptionally welcoming to us. I have become involved with the Tri-Community Coalition, an organization that provides preventative substance abuse programs for at-risk teens. One of the reasons FedEx is one of the world’s most admired companies is that we are encouraged to give back to the communities where we work and live. I do it and I encourage all of our employees to do the same.”

The Oak Park location opened with 235 employees, and leadership continues to add positions as demand for FedEx service grows. “FedEx is proud to be recognized as one of the world’s most admired companies, and we take seriously our commitment to be a safe and responsible neighbor. Our operations will create jobs for local citizens, many of whom will benefit from our company’s promote-from-within philosophy, and additional benefits in terms of financial investment, volunteerism and other community support,” Westrick explained. “Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 400,000 team members to remain ‘absolutely, positively’ focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities.”

He added, “We are frequently hiring, but just coming off our busiest time of the year we do not have many positions open at this time.” There are, however, a few open opportunities in various departments for interested candidates.

For more information, interested parties can visit the company’s site at
www.fedex.com. For career opportunities, job seekers should navigate to careers.fedex.com.