ERLANGER — The package will roll down the conveyor belt, with a bar code affixed. An electronic device will read that code, access a mainframe computer, and tell the conveyor belt where to drop the package.

        Compare that with the current process of reading and sorting packages by hand, and it's easy to understand why DHL officials are so excited about the possibilities at their new sort facility and airline hub.

        “This will triple the weight and double the piece average we can handle per day,” said Mike Schmitt, director of hub planning and development for DHL. “This machine, with the same number of people, can handle 60 percent more packages per hour.”

        DHL Airways, a separate airline that flies the freight for DHL International, is based in Erlanger next to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport — where the new $170 million sort facility is being constructed.

        The new building is scheduled to open in June, 2001, and Mr. Schmitt said 20 percent of the new sort system is installed. When finished, each of the three sorting machines that will include 15 miles of conveyor belts will be able to handle 120,000 pieces per hour, Mr. Schmitt said.

        That equates into 1.1 million packages at 1.3 pounds apiece, or about 3 million pounds of freight daily. The company now handles about 1.28 million pounds a day.

        And instead of losing jobs to automation, the new facility could mean another 700 jobs over the next 10 years, said Steve White, DHL Airways vice president for hub development and operations. The company employs more than 960 full- and part-time workers, including about 400 pilots.

        Overall, the facility and surrounding tarmac give the company 3.75 million square feet of usable space - more than the total area of Delta Air Lines' Terminal 3 at the airport, Mr. Schmitt said.

        That includes 75 acres of airplane parking, and 320,000 feet of interior space that includes three levels.

        And Mr. Schmitt said there may be more to come.

        “Right now, we're forecast to blow this facility by 2005,” he said. “And I wouldn't be surprised that we reach capacity pretty soon after we move in.”

        The company has the option to expand into another 60 acres at the airport, Mr. White said.

        “This is just phase one,” he said.

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