Amazon announced in November it will open a new “air gateway” and package-sorting operation at Wilmington Air Park, representing a return to the increasingly busy Clinton County airport.
An Amazon representative told the Dayton Daily News at the time that the online retailer leases space at airports for the loading and unloading of customer packages to and from the aircraft, from trucks that drop off and pick up packages, and an on-site sort area for sorting packages based on their next destination.
Amazon calls those operations “air gateways.”
The company has not said how many new jobs it will create in Wilmington, but Sen. Rob Portman told this news outlet in November, he expects the jobs to number “several hundred.”
Dan Evers, executive director of the Clinton County Port Authority, said Friday the air park, which the port authority oversees, does not have a precise employment projection from Amazon for the operation.
RELATED: Portman expects Amazon to create 'several hundred' jobs in Wilmington
“Amazon is growing its investment in the community with a gateway for their Amazon Air planes at the Wilmington Air Park as it continues to build out its air hub operation at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport,” the company said in a statement in November.
The new Wilmington air gateway will retrofit existing space at the Air Park, in buildings F and A. In all, it will take up 1.2 million square feet, covering about 35 acres. The company has not officially said how many jobs will be anchored in the new sorting center.
Amazon has been growing at breakneck speed across the nation and in Ohio, where it has created 6,000 jobs in the past seven years and has commitments to add 5,500 additional employees. The bulk of those jobs are in fulfillment operations.
The company is also hiring for new operations in Kettering, Monroe and across Ohio.
The Monroe facility will be huge, covering 1.3 million square feet. Construction was completed last summer. The center is found near Interstate 75 at 700 Gateway Blvd. in Park North at Monroe.
The site will house employees who will pick, pack and ship larger items such as car seats, sports equipment, patio furniture, gardening tools, kayaks and pet food.
Employees there will join a network of existing fulfillment centers in the Columbus area (Obetz and Etna) and another near Cleveland, at North Randall.
Last May, Amazon announced plans to open its sixth Ohio fulfillment center in West Jefferson, creating more than 1,500 full-time jobs by the end of this year.
This is in addition to fulfillment centers already operating in Etna and Obetz, with new fulfillment centers slated for Monroe and North Randall and another one in Euclid in 2019.
Messages seeking comment were sent to representatives of Amazon Friday. Evers deferred to Amazon for most questions about the planned operation.
Amazon info sessions
• 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 22 at 1025 S. South St., Wilmington.
• 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 26 at 1025 S. South St., Wilmington.
• Noon to 4 p.m. April 23, at 581 Ledbetter Road, Xenia.
• 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 24 at 300 E. Silver St., Lebanon.
• 9 a.m. to 4 p.m April 25 at 1575 North St., Hillsboro.
More information can be found at www.amazondelivers.jobs
About the Author
