Local Companies Get Approval to Use FTZ
November 25th, 2009
A truck arrives at Safe Handling's Auburn location.
(LEWISTON) — Two Auburn-based companies, LynxUS and Safe Handling, Inc., recently received approval from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to be activated users of Auburn’s General Purpose Foreign Trade Zone 263.
The federal approval means that both companies are allowed designated space in their warehouse operations to accommodate clients who wish to store imported materials or products to take advantage of FTZ benefits.
An FTZ allows companies to defer paying duties on imported goods until they are sold domestically. If the product is exported, or shipped to another FTZ for storage or additional assembly to be exported, the tariff is eliminated altogether. Moreover, an FTZ user can warehouse raw materials or components, assemble, finish, or otherwise add value to the goods, and usually pay lower tariffs compared to the tariff rate prior to alteration.
A 760-acre parcel of land in Auburn was designated a General Purpose Foreign Trade Zone in 2004, allowing qualifying companies to save money conducting international trade by either eliminating, reducing, or deferring the payment of tariffs.
Bisson and LynxUS share a warehouse in the Auburn Industrial Park. LynxUS recently received approval to use Auburn's FTZ for its clients.
Created by the Federal Government in the 1930s, a Foreign Trade Zone facilitates trade and increases the global competitiveness of U.S.-based companies. According to the National Association of Foreign Trade Zones, a Foreign-Trade Zone is an area within the United States that the federal government considers outside the U.S. Customs territory. Certain types of merchandise can be imported into a Zone without going through formal Customs entry procedures or paying import duties.
“It’s taken some time for businesses to familiarize themselves with the concept of a foreign trade zone, because very few Maine companies have traditionally used them,” says Economic Development Specialist George M. Dycio, who markets the FTZ for the Growth Council. “We’re grateful that two of the area’s prominent distribution and logistics service providers are now offering clients the benefits of using the FTZ on a small scale at their facilities.
Safe Handling, Inc. is a full-service, bulk product transportation and toll processing company. It operates the largest rail-to-truck transloading facilities in New England and Western Pennsylvania. In addition, the company has ISO 9001:2000-certified manufacturing facilities where liquid chemicals can be blended and hydrated for regional deliveries. The company handles a billion pounds of products a year.
LynxUS, LLC is a warehousing and paper converting company focused on meeting the needs of regional and national retailers, non-perishable food manufacturers, paper producers and suppliers, and other businesses. Either directly or through its parent company, Bisson Transportation, Inc., LynxUS provides transportation, logistics, warehousing, and distribution services including drayage, rail car loading, light assembly, and pulp and paper converting services.
Effective October 2, 2009, Bisson Transportation sold its LynxUS warehousing and converting operations (but not its transportation and logistics business) to NEPW Logistics, Inc. NEPW is a well established operator of public warehouses, primarily serving Maine’s pulp and paper industry. NEPW Logistics intends to work with the appropriate state and federal authorities to assume LynxUS’s FTZ operator rights for the former LynxUS warehouse.
The Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council is the central economic development agency serving Lewiston and Auburn, Maine. It is a nonprofit public/private partnership that assists emerging and expanding businesses in Lewiston-Auburn. The Growth Council fosters a business environment that enhances job opportunities, stimulates local investment, and broadens the local tax base.
For more information about Auburn’s General Purpose Foreign Trade Zone and how companies can avail themselves of FTZ benefits, contact Dycio at 784-0161.
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