United Parcel Service Inc.

ABOUT THIS COMPANY:

United Parcel Service (UPS) is the largest package delivery company in the world. Its fleet of 500 airplanes, 150,000 vehicles and 1,700 facilities help deliver more than 13 million packages and documents every day in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. UPS also provides a range of logistics and financial services.

First Seattle, then the world

UPS's roots go back to 1907 when 19-year-old James E. Casey opened a private messenger service in Seattle. A few years later, the company changed its focus to delivering packages from retail stores, consolidating deliveries destined for the same neighborhoods in one vehicle. By the 1930s, UPS was using airplanes to ship packages to all major cities on the West Coast and New York City. Around that time, all of its vehicles were painted brown, the color that has since become synonymous with the company. After World War II, UPS opened its delivery service to all customers -- private and commercial -- which put it in direct competition with the U.S. Postal Service. UPS kept growing, and by 1975, was operating in all 48 states on the U.S. mainland (Alaska and Hawaii were added later). In the 1980s, UPS set up an international delivery network, which has grown to include more than 200 countries and territories. Its operations, both domestic and foreign, were enhanced when UPS received approval to operate as an independent airline in 1988. The company is now one of the top airlines in the country.