At the Bulk Mail Center,
there’s more than meets the eye

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

On the annual income tax deadline day, people always seem to stop by the Philadelphia Bulk Mail Center in Somerton.
That demonstrates how little local folks actually know about one of Northeast Philadelphia’s largest employers.
The Bulk Mail Center is not a post office. It’s not a place where anyone can walk up and drop off a letter, package or tax return for mailing.
But with 1,050 employees and 509,000 square feet of floor space, the facility at 1900 Byberry Road is the hub of activity for all packages and standard delivery mail originating from and destined for addresses in the tri-state area.
The center is among the busiest of 21 United States Postal Service BMCs in the country. Last month, it celebrated its 30th year of operation.
In those 30 years, the center has undergone physical expansion and cutting-edge computerization. It continues to endure fierce competition from private carriers, as well as a post-9/11 era in which anthrax letters and mail bombs must be considered real and constant threats to postal facilities throughout the country.
But outsiders still largely recognize it for the familiar eagle logo that graces the front of the massive facility.
"People don’t know what we do here," said Bob Nejman, the manager for in-plant support and acting general manager.
When folks drive past the place and see the signs, "they say, ‘Oh, there’s a post office,’" Nejman said.
It’s not. But if it were, it would be the biggest one the world has ever seen.
The building sits on 20 acres and has 155 loading docks and more than eight miles of conveyor belts. The center receives up to 300 tractor-trailer deliveries and handles more than 170,000 individual packages each day, in addition to hundreds of thousands of pieces of standard delivery bulk mail, such as catalogs, credit card solicitations and Internet service CDs.
Its territory includes all of Eastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey and Delaware, along with parts of New York State.
The region is unique because more mail originates here than arrives here from other regions.
"That’s because of the large mailers we have in the area," Nejman said.
According to Joe Fogel, the veteran service specialist for the center, some of the top BMC clients in the region include West Chester-based QVC and Delaware-based Amazon.
But even non-local companies are among the top bulk mail producers for the region, including L.L. Bean, JCPenney and Bloomingdale’s. That’s because of the third party contractors hired by those retail businesses to prepare and deliver their mass mailings.
"We have the biggest block of mailers in our area," Fogel said.
Because of the area’s dense population — compared to largely rural regions of other parts of the country — the Philadelphia region generates plenty of person-to-person parcel mailings, as well.
While competitors like UPS, Federal Express and DHL have attempted to forge stronger shares of the market over the years, private companies have yet to overtake the Postal Service because of the superior service that it can offer.
"One thing that we stress and that the employees realize is that we don’t manufacture anything here. We provide a service, so our mission is to provide the best service we can," Nejman said.
While some private companies are more business-oriented, the Postal Service’s vast network of local offices and delivery vehicles is best equipped for door-to-door residential service, particularly in remote areas. The private carriers recognize that, too.
"It’s not uncommon to see them bring (parcels) to us to deliver over the final leg," said Jerry Capie, maintenance manager for the BMC.
Similarly, any fears of competition from the Internet have long ago been replaced by confidence in the strength of traditional mail. That is, the growing prevalence of online shopping has only helped the Postal Service in that folks who buy electronically need someone to deliver the goods. Meanwhile, there are still plenty of popular paper catalogs circulating thanks to companies like Land’s End and Victoria’s Secret.
The center’s busy season starts about now and continues through the end-of-year holidays. In past years, the daily handle of holiday packages has topped the 300,000 mark.
"Now we’re getting into the fall mailing season. You’re getting all of your catalogs," Nejman said.
In turn, the retail marketing blitz will be sure to generate plenty of parcel deliveries.
"It’s like a big cycle," Capie said.
As Christmas and other gift-giving holidays approach, the parcel business will peak, then about two weeks out, it will drop off again. After the New Year, however, it picks up again with the inevitable post-holiday gift returns.
Besides service, the two other buzz words around the shop these days are security and safety.
Almost four years after the 2001 anthrax letter attacks against some of the nation’s leading news organizations and political figures, BMC employees remain watchful, lest terrorists try to exploit the Postal Service again.
In 2001, five people died, including two Washington, D.C.-based postal employees, from exposure to anthrax that had been sent through the mail.
At the height of the anthrax scare, one Philadelphia BMC employee was hospitalized with a suspicious rash and tested for the toxic substance. Results of the test were negative.
Since then, the BMC has maintained a "better safe than sorry" philosophy.
"You’re going to error on the side of caution," Capie said. "We’ve had baby powder come out of a package and called out the haz-mat team."
The BMC is prepared to shut down and divert all traffic to other facilities, if necessary. There is a strict set of protocols to follow for employees who observe a suspicious parcel.
Fortunately for the folks at the BMC, they aren’t the first postal employees to handle packages. Window clerks at local post offices are the first. They examine all parcels at the point they enter the system.
Employee safety is a high priority at the BMC, as well. The center is due in the coming weeks to receive recognition from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for its participation in the Voluntary Protection Program.
The program is a cooperative effort among OSHA, management and employees to reduce injuries and the accompanying lost time and productivity at the plant.
"We’ve developed a lot of safety programs. We increased joint safety-management meetings to analyze different problem areas," Capie said.
The center has also implemented an incentive program by which employees can earn gift certificates or other awards when recognized for safe job performances.
Center officials expect to receive OSHA’s top recognition, "Star Status." It would be the largest Postal Service facility to achieve that status.
"It’s ongoing," Capie said. "We’re challenged to reduce our accident rate from the previous year."
"The bottom line is less employee injuries and reduced costs," Nejman said. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com