Lockheed Martin Distribution Technologies, Owego, NY, said yesterday that it was awarded a $33 million contract from the U.S. Postal Service to introduce address-recognition capability earlier in the mail processing cycle to help postal centers dispatch mail faster.
As part of the Optical Character Reader Enhancements for Letter Automation program, Lockheed will upgrade Remote Computer Reader machines at 350 postal centers nationwide to provide greater sort capability on 1,086 Advanced Facer Canceller Systems.
Those machines automatically position envelopes so that postage can be canceled and envelopes can be marked with an identification tag that enables further processing.
The USPS said the upgrade will allow the system to sort by ZIP code so letter mail can begin efficient automated sorting sooner.
The upgrade is expected to be completed by June 2005.
