ABB wins $48 million contract from US Postal Service

Citation

(2005), "ABB wins $48 million contract from US Postal Service", Industrial Robot, Vol. 32 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2005.04932cab.003

ABB wins $48 million contract from US Postal Service

ABB wins $48 million contract from US Postal Service

Keywords: Robotics, Sorting, Packaging

Robotic systems will help to increase efficiency of mail service

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won a $48 million robotics contract from the United States Postal Service® (USPS) to help it increase the efficiency of the mail service.

ABB will supply turnkey robotics containerisation systems to assist USPS mail processing facilities in the daily task of handling several million items of mail. Each of the 67 systems that ABB is providing will contain two robots that automatically sort, move and stack mail trays based on zip code information embedded in bar codes on the containers (Plate 2).

The new systems will support the next phase of the USPS mail processing automation program, which is designed to improve services. The contract follows a 2000-2001 project under which ABB supplied 100 similar containerisation systems to 50 different USPS facilities.

Plate 2 ABB has won a $48 million robotics contract from the United States Postal Service®

Dinesh Paliwal, Head of ABB's Automation Technologies division, said: “This contract reflects a successful and continuing relationship between ABB and the USPS spanning nearly 10 years. We have worked together to develop solutions that meet their needs in software, automation and service, and this order is testament to ABB's complete offering and strong performance”.

“Substantial time and effort is associated with verifying, lifting, stacking, pushing, unloading and reverifying trays of mail across our processing operations”, said USPS Vice-President of Engineering, Tom Day. “These systems will enhance our automation program by applying the flexibility and modular design of ABB's gantry solution to complete the automation of tray handling requirements.”

ABB's scope of supply includes all equipment, training, installation, documentation, spare parts and system tools. Shipment of the systems will begin in May 2005 and the program is projected to be completed by the end of 2006. The order was booked in the third quarter 2004.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 103,000 people.