OSHTEMO TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Upgrades to a U.S. Postal Service facility near Kalamazoo are being made to improve efficiency and delivery times.

On Thursday, the Postal Service showed off a new highspeed package sorting machine at its Kalamazoo Sorting and Delivery Center in Oshtemo Township.

The machine can sort up to 5,000 packages an hour. Before the machine, packages were sorted by hand at 300 to 4000 packages an hour.

The upgrades are part of the $40 billion Delivering for American Plan. The Postal Service says adding this sorter to the Kalamazoo area improves accuracy and will get packages out to customers faster.

“It’s actually more accurate because it goes off an address management system database. It scans that barcode, so it eliminates the manual error toss that could have happened with a carrier before. These are scanned by the machines and automatically deposited into the carrier’s hamper. Efficiency rate is over 99 percent and we are very proud of that,” said USPS strategic communications specialist Mark Inglett.

The Postal Service also showed off its new vehicle fleet, including Ford E-Transit electric vehicles and bigger delivery vehicles with more room and air conditioning for carriers.