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FedEx facility expansion opens door for more business,
economic growth in region

A newly expanded FedEx facility at Bishop International Airport took center stage at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, as officials unveiled what many believe will become an important gateway for future economic growth in the region. Read The Flint Journal article.

Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce photos Tim Herman, CEO of the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce, speaks during the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the newly expanded FedEx facility at Bishop International Airport on November 3, 2009.

Bishop International Airport Director Jim Rice speaks during the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the newly expanded FedEx facility at Bishop International Airport on November 3, 2009.

A view inside the newly expanded FedEx facility at Bishop International Airport. Officials unveiled what many believe will become an important gateway for future economic growth in the region on November 3, 2009.

Tim Herman, CEO of the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce, along with Airport Director Jim Rice, Mayor Dayne Walling, Genesee County Commission Chairman Ted Henry, members of the legislative delegation, and others gathered at the newly expanded facility Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the culmination of several years of hard work and collaboration.

The new facility will help position Genesee County for future growth, Herman said.

“But beyond our borders, the expansion of this FedEx facility speaks loud and clear: Genesee County is open for business,” he said.

The facility, located in the airport's new intermodal distribution center, was made possible through the collaboration of many stakeholders in the community, Rice said. The facility is part of a $30 million intermodal hub now open for business at the airport.

The Regional Chamber played a crucial role in making the project a reality, Rice said.

“Throughout the process, our economic development team at the Regional Chamber worked closely with Jim, key leaders, and other stakeholders to help the airport secure funding for the project, and to help preserve jobs here at this facility,” Herman said before the large group of attendees at Tuesday's ceremony. “This project also could not have happened without the substantial assistance of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.”

The warehouse, which is designed for truck and aircraft transfers, will allow FedEx to handle three times the volume of air cargo that it has handled in the past, Herman said. As a result, area companies will be able to ship and receive products quickly, which allow them to expand and extend their reach well beyond this region.

Companies also are using air cargo with more frequency because they are unable to maintain large inventories as they have in the past, he said. So the expansion of this facility allows those companies to cash in on that growing trend.

The newly expanded facility also provides an important linkage to the intermodal facility at the Buick City site, which also is positioned to play a key role in the economic future of this region, he said. 

Mayor Walling said the facility helps position Flint and Genesee County as a transportation hub.

Companies now have an opportunity to use the state-of-the-art facility, Rice said.