1st look inside Amazon’s gigantic new package hub in Tri-Cities
Amazon Inc. has racked up some impressive numbers since it launched the first of three Pasco facilities this summer.
The Seattle e-commerce giant hired about 1,800 — and counting — workers for a package hub it calls an “inbound cross dock.”
It has processed more than 15 million individual items since the facility went live, reports Tom Power, general manager.
Amazon began hiring in Pasco in June and brought its newest receiving center into its global logistics system weeks later.
It made its official on Oct. 9 when it welcomed politicians, partners and reporters for a ribbon cutting and tours of the working facility.
Three-year wait
It took more than three years for the idea of Amazon to become reality.
In 2021, the $600 billion company confirmed it would operate two fulfillment centers in east Pasco, each more than a million square feet.
The warehouses would fulfill customer orders and employ about 1,200 between them. Its partner, Ryan Development, broke ground and constructed the buildings on opposite sides of South Road 40 East, not far from Sacajawea State Park.
Then, they didn’t open.
Amazon paused its global logistics expansion. That left the two Pasco buildings ready to go, but with incomplete racking systems extending to their high ceilings.
Eventually, Amazon scrapped the fulfillment vision and announced its plans for one building including transforming it into a package hub.
The change required a $10 million makeover. Unused metal racks were pushed aside.
Passenger gates for boxes
The sorting process starts with merchandise arriving at the 20 or so truck doors that line the south wall.
Like passenger gates at an airport, a never-ending parade of semis back up to the building and discharge their cargo to waiting employees.
Conveyor belts carry boxes past sensors, which register the new arrivals, and machines that affix Amazon labels with a puff of air.
A single package could go through dozens of steps before it reaches a customer.
Merchandise arriving in Pasco is routed to five distinct regions of the U.S., putting it in warehouses that are closer to customers.
Once its sorted, the outgoing items depart via 60 more truck doors along the building’s eastern wall.
It takes 500 workers per shift to handle the dizzying flow of incoming merchandise.
Skechers shoes, puppy pads, apparel and boxes labeled “Made in China” passed by Wednesday’s visitors on conveyor belts that rise and fall to accommodate workers.
$250 million investment
Amazon was one of three major developments to hit Pasco in 2021.
The others included Darigold Inc. and Local Bounti Inc. Collectively, they pledged to invest nearly $1 billion in new business facilities, with thousands of new jobs and new tax revenue for local jurisdictions.
Amazon’s Pasco buildings, which include a delivery station set to open in 2025, have a combined construction value of about $250 million.
Local Bounti ($40 million) is operating and preparing to add a second phase.
Darigold’s $600 million state-of-the art milk processing plant is being built in north Pasco and will begin processing 8 million pounds of milk per day in 2025.
Amazon opens jobs in Pasco in waves, with new posts generally appearing on Friday evenings at hiring.amazon.com. Job seekers can also apply in person.
This story was originally published October 10, 2024 at 5:00 AM.