Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commended Federal Express Canada for it’s international trade vision as it opened a routing and sorting facility in Mississauga, Ont. Tuesday.
FedEx Canada is a subsidiary of FedEx Corp, which collectively
makes up the world’s largest express transportation company and second largest airline. FedEx has a major Canadian presence, employing 5,000 workers in its Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal offices.
Opened this morning in a gala ceremony, the Mississauga FedEx facility is a 31,772 square meter hub, the first FedEx facility in Canada to use WLAN technology throughout the building, a computer controlled conveyor belt system and FedEx-developed customs clearance software called Intercept.
Intercept will work with existing FedEx systems to facilitate transmission of shipment information between Canada Customs and FedEx in order to ensure that a package meets customs requirements for clearance faster. Company officials say that the Toronto hub will be the first FedEx facility to use this technology in full production.
Newly implemented technology will speed up and smooth out the parcel sorting and distributing process, the company claims, cutting delivery to some stations by up to 45 minutes.
The Mississauga center will be a stronger link between Canadian corporations and the world markets Fedex does business with, said David Bronczek, president and CEO of FedEx Express.
“”Becoming a preferred carrier means having a world-class infrastructure such as this,”” he said.
The shipping giant shouldn’t have too tough of a time convincing its existing clients of the possibility of better service, said Image Craft customer service and distribution manager Sylvia Hillier, since most of them are already impressed by the company’s track record.
“”Of course we’ll have to wait and see what this will change, but they already do a really good job,”” she said.
Hillier said that the 28-year-old Cambridge, Ont.-based greeting card company was persuaded to sign a major shipping agreement with FedEx two weeks ago, largely due to requests from its own customers located all over North America.
“”We were using a variety of courier companies,”” she said, “”but our customers were telling us that the FedEx service was superior and the rates they offer are better than anyone else we’ve found.””
Mulroney, the guest of honour at the hub’s launch, spoke about the importance of trade as a solidifying agent of Canada-U.S. relations and praised the company’s commitment to easing the flow of goods between the two countries with the help of technology.
“”I believe in free and open markets because I’ve seen first hand the prosperity they’ve brought to this continent,”” he said. “”That’s where a company like FedEx and this new hub can and does contribute to the expansion of free trade.””
Mulroney also predicted that much of Canada’s future trade successes will come from our collaboration with Latin American countries and called on the political leaders of both Canada and the U.S. to fulfill his vision of the Americas united under a comprehensive free trade agreement.
“”If prime minister Chretien and president Bush can make this happen, it will be incredible and they will deserve the world approval they will receive,”” he said.
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