Toronto Hub Opening

We put out a news release a little more than two years ago stating that we'd have the Toronto Hub up and running in time for the 2009 holiday season. Now for a company in our business, that's not the kind of deadline you want to miss. And as you can see, we accomplished our goal. 

I want to congratulate everyone on the team who made this project happen. When you're standing in a facility as impressive as this one, it's hard to imagine we started our Canadian journey in a cramped basement of a Toronto hotel. It was a big step for UPS and a big statement of confidence in our future here.

Today, we operate 47 facilities across Canada, serving every Canadian city with a full slate of delivery options, information technologies and logistics support. One of these facilities, the SCS Burlington Logistics Campus, is our second largest logistics facility in North America. And this expanded Toronto facility is now the largest package facility in Canada.

The heart and soul of UPS Canada are the more than 11,000 employees, including many hardworking students from just across the street at York University. Our dedicated Canadian employees enable UPS to not just do business but become a part of the fabric in each community through efforts like the 26,000 volunteer hours they've already performed this year. 

You can't independently look at this building - it's really part of a global web of air and ground facilities, freight and airline fleets, warehouses and retail stores connecting each of you to 215 countries and territories around the world. 

But, it does beg the question: why in the middle of the worst recession in history would UPS invest $72 million to create he biggest facility for distribution of packages in Canada? Why would we do that?  The simple answer is that today UPS sees the same kind of possibilities in Canada that we saw more than 30 years ago. What we see is amazing potential, a strong and resilient Canadian economy, the unstoppable force of global commerce in a nation of companies ready to come out of the recession and into a new era of global growth.

According to the World Bank, Canada has the 11th largest economy in the world and is the largest U.S. trading partner. In fact, $1.5 billion of trade crosses the border every day. Canada has a solid infrastructure - both physical and virtual - and a highly educated workforce. Canada has a strong banking system and solid capital inflows. This paints a bright and promising economic picture for the future.

One thing that really impresses me about Canada is that when it comes to global trade, the Canadian government gets it. Global trade is on the agenda. Canada has clearly made a commitment to help Canadian businesses compete on the world stage. 

Let me give you a quick example of a Canadian company - by the way a UPS customer - that has grabbed the reins of global trade to create an amazing success story.  Regatta Sport is an athletic wear company based in Saint Catherine's, Ontario. It was founded by two rowers on the Canadian team. Their whole business model was built on solving problems. They knew from their racing days that rowers needed special clothes to stand up to the sport; that each uniform has to be custom made for the rower; and all uniforms must match. The racing season starts just weeks after the teams are picked. So the company faces an extremely short window to get small shipments of three or four custom fitted uniforms from Canada to the racing markets of Europe, Asia and Australia. 

Since the day the company opened its doors 21 years ago, UPS has been its logistics partner. We helped them execute the possibilities that have led to global opportunity. And that is exactly what Canada is doing by opening the door to global trade. Canada has a powerful balance of great government support, dedicated people, and companies continuing to grow and thrive as the economy begins to rebound. 

UPS is committed to Canada. And that's we're celebrating this expansion today and what it means to our economy.

Again, my thanks and congratulations to the UPS team here in Canada that has made so much come together in such a short period of time. And our appreciation to all of you, our guests, who are sharing this very important day with us. We are grateful for your business and certainly the confidence that you've placed in us. Thanks so much - it's great being here.