Christie, UPS celebrate groundbreaking for Parsippany facility

Some 900 developers, designers and other technology professionals from UPS will occupy the company’s new 200,000-square-foot complex in Parsippany, where executives and public officials gathered Tuesday to mark the start of construction.The four-story building, which is slated to open next year, will be the new hub for operating and developing the systems that help the shipping giant deliver millions of packages daily, officials said. Those technologies include package scanning, shipping automation and customer relationship management.

“These are truly the best professionals in the industry, and their capabilities have helped UPS go from a package delivery company to a technology company today that actually delivers the most comprehensive portfolio of logistics services,” said Juan Perez, UPS senior vice president of technology. “The technology developed by the groups that will work in this new facility plays a key role in the company’s success — no doubt about it.”

For UPS, it will be the newest facility for a global information technology operation that has been headquartered in New Jersey since 1991, and has some 2,000 employees here overall, with other facilities in Mahwah and Wayne. For the state, it’s success story marked by the retention of some 700 high-paying, highly skilled jobs.

Retaining those jobs resulted in part from a $40 million tax credit awarded to UPS under the state’s Grow New Jersey incentive program. On Tuesday, Gov. Chris Christie touted the incentive and the team of public agencies and business leaders that help the state promote economic development.

“UPS could have picked another state for this facility, but they didn’t,” Christie said during the groundbreaking ceremony. “They picked to stay with New Jersey. That’s demonstrating their continued commitment to the people of our state and to the excellence that our citizens bring as employees to UPS’ mission.”

The new building has been designed by HLW International.