The U.S. Postal Service awarded Siemens Dematic a $127 million contract to produce at least 350 ATHS-100 automated tray handling systems, the USPS said yesterday.
The ATHS-100 is an enhancement to the AFSM-100 automated flats handling systems. The USPS will install the ATHS-100s produced by Siemens at 137 sites nationwide, with deployment scheduled to begin in October 2004.
ATHS-100 is expected to improve flats sorting by automating the exchange of full mail trays with empty trays, applying a label on outbound trays, sweeping full trays and reloading empty trays. Siemens also designed, built and installed the postal service's 537 AFSM-100 systems along with Northrop Grumman Corp.
The postal service has the option to buy another 184 ATHS-100s as part of phase two of its contract with Siemens.
