BOC, the world’s largest helium supplier, is strengthening its U.S. helium supply capability with a new distribution center (DC) opening in Montgomery, Ill. From this location, the company will ship gaseous and liquid helium to customers throughout the central Midwest. BOC is moving to Montgomery from an older, multi-product facility in Carol Stream, Ill.
“Because the Montgomery plant will be totally dedicated to helium production and distribution, we expect to provide our customers with an even better level of service than they had been accustomed to from the Carol Stream facility,” said Phil Kornbluth, vice president of global helium for BOC.
Those customers, located throughout Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, use the helium in applications ranging from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to welding, leak detection and basic research.
| Top Logistics Metros in the Midwest
1. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.
2. Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio
3. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich.
4. St. Louis, Mo.-Ill.
5. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis.
6. Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.
7. Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.
8. Indianapolis, Ind.
9. Toledo, Ohio
10. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis.
SOURCE: Expansion Management’s Logistics Quotient™, September 2005
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The helium is shipped to Montgomery from BOC’s helium plant in Otis, Kan., or one of BOC’s third-party sources of liquid helium. The Otis plant provides more than 50 percent of BOC helium supply and is one of only 13 sources of refined liquid helium in the world. From these sources, BOC ships bulk liquid helium around the world to 48 DCs similar to the Montgomery facility.
Elsewhere in the Midwest, FedEx Express recently announced a major expansion project for its Indianapolis hub. As many as 800 additional employees could be hired under the expansion plan, which would bring the hub’s employment level to nearly 5,000 people.
The expansion will increase package processing capacity by more than 30 percent, from 75,000 packages per hour to 99,000 packages per hour, at the second-largest domestic FedEx Express hub (behind Memphis, Tenn.)
Plans call for a 400,000 square foot expansion to the hub’s existing sort facility and construction of a 175,000 square foot secondary sort building. Two maintenance buildings — including a 40,000 square foot facility for aircraft maintenance and an 8,000 square foot facility for ground support equipment —will also be built, pushing total hub growth by more than 600,000 square feet.
Construction is expected to begin soon and the expanded system operational by December 2008.
Indianapolis is one of six major domestic hubs operated by FedEx Express. Other hubs are in Memphis, the company’s world headquarters; Newark, N.J.; Fort Worth, Texas; Oakland, Calif.; and Anchorage, Alaska. FedEx also is building a hub in Greensboro, N.C., scheduled to be operational in 2009.
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