WASHINGTON, DC —The U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) international mail facility in Chicago has earned its second consecutive Certificate of Excellence award from an international organization dedicated to improving global postal services.

The J.T. Weeker International Service Center (ISC) in Chicago has been awarded its second Certificate of Excellence in international mail processing today by the 24-nation member International Post Corporation (IPC).

“This recognition once again demonstrates that the Postal Service is meeting and surpassing its commitment to excellence across the entire organization,” said Paul Vogel, USPS Global Business Managing Director and Senior Vice President. “Chicago’s encore achievement in excellence is especially noteworthy because it requires a 95 percent or better rating on more than 150 evaluated points, compared to the initial certification requirement of 90 percent or better.”

The J.T. Weeker ISC received its first IPC certification in 2004, becoming the first USPS facility to do so. All five USPS international centers have since received Certificates of Excellence, making the United States the only nation with its entire international mail processing network to be IPC-certified. The other U.S. centers are in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Based in Belgium, the IPC is a cooperative association of European, North American and Pacific region national postal administrations and operators who together deliver more than 80% of the world's total mail volume. Its Certificate of Excellence has been awarded to only 16 postal centers out of a total of 36 worldwide operated by IPC members.

Certificates are awarded to international facilities that demonstrate top levels of quality, efficiency, teamwork and communications. Achieving certification is a year-long process including on-site reviews by the IPC to verify compliance and ongoing IPC validation that performance levels are maintained. IPC Head of Operations Toni Schneider presented the award and recognized J.T. Weeker employees for their teamwork and dedication to excellence.

The J.T. Weeker ISC operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with 550 employees processing more than 253 million pieces of mail per year. It serves as the USPS gateway for international mail originating from or addressed to 16 Midwestern and Southwestern states.

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