From Santa’s workshop to the Small Delivery Unit Package Sorter.
The massive contraption, which can pump out about 3,300 packages an hour, commands a sizable footprint at the Naperville Mail Facility.
“See the wires coming down?” USPS communications specialist Tim Norman asked Thursday, pointing to the machine during a media tour.
“It scans the labels and then (parcels) go down the conveyor belt and drop into (bins for) whatever route corresponds with that address.”
The technical assist is crucial because the U.S. Postal Service anticipates delivering more than 10 billion letters, holiday cards and packages during the Christmas season.
“It just gets busier and busier,” Norman said, citing a real-time tracker that shows more than 2.38 billion items already accepted as of Thursday afternoon.