Foreign-Trade Zone 146; Lawrenceville, IL; Proposed Reorganization and Expansion of Foreign-Trade Subzones 146A & 146B North American Lighting, Inc. (Motor Vehicle Lighting Products) Flora, IL

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

[Docket 16-94]

Foreign-Trade Zone 146; Lawrenceville, IL; Proposed

Reorganization and Expansion of Foreign-Trade Subzones 146A & 146B

North American Lighting, Inc. (Motor Vehicle Lighting Products) Flora,

IL

An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board

(the Board) by the Bi-State Authority, grantee of FTZ 146,

Lawrenceville, Illinois, requesting authority for reorganization of and

the expansion of zone activity at Subzone 146A and Subzone 146B at the

North American Lighting, Inc. (NAL), facilities in Flora, Illinois, and

the inclusion of a new facility in Salem, Illinois, as part of the

reorganized subzone. The application was submitted pursuant to the

provisions of the Foreign-Trade Zones Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 81a-

81u), and the regulations of the Board (15 CFR Part 400). It was

formally filed on April 14, 1994.

Subzones 146A and 146B were approved by the Board in 1988 for two

adjacent manufacturing plant sites of NAL, both of which are located

within the Flora Industrial Park, Flora, Illinois (Board Order 371, 53

FR 5436, 2-24-88). The two facilities (222,000 sq.ft./14 acres) were

granted subzone authority to manufacture motor vehicle lighting

components and other related auto parts. Subzone 146B was formerly

operated by Hella Electronics, Inc., a NAL affiliate. Both plants are

now operated as an integrated manufacturing unit by NAL.

NAL has added a third manufacturing site (380,000 sq. ft. on 22

acres), located in the Salem Industrial Park, 1075 West Main Street,

Salem (Marion County), Illinois (30 miles west of Flora), which would

become part of the reorganized zone. Construction is underway at the

Flora facilities which will increase manufacturing space to 355,000

square feet. The completed expansion will yield a combined production

capacity of some 28 million units annually. Based on the restructured

management of the operations, the applicant requests that all three

manufacturing facilities be consolidated under one subzone

designation--146A.

The production activity that would occur within the consolidated

subzone would be essentially the same as that currently occurring at

the Flora facilities. The finished products would involve motor vehicle

lighting components. Materials purchased from abroad include: various

polymers and resins in primary form (HTSUS Ch. 39), articles of rubber

and plastic, fasteners, optical elements of glass, certain electrical

apparatus, lamps and lenses, insulated wire, optical fiber and cable/

bundles (duty rates: free-16%, 3.1 cents/kg+9%).

Zone procedures exempt NAL from Customs duty payments on the

foreign materials used in export production. On domestic sales, the

company is able to choose the duty rates that apply to finished

automotive lighting equipment and parts (free-10%) for the foreign

components noted above. The auto duty rate (2.5%) applies if the

finished products are shipped via zone-to-zone transfer to U.S. motor

vehicle assembly plants with subzone status.

In accordance with the Board's regulations (as revised, 56 FR

50790-50808, 10-8-91), a member of the FTZ Staff has been designated

examiner to investigate the application and report to the Board.

Public comment on the application is invited from interested

parties. Submissions (original and three copies) shall be addressed to

the Board's Executive Secretary at the address below. The closing

period for their receipt is July 5, 1994. Rebuttal comments in response

to material submitted during the foregoing period may be submitted

during the subsequent 15-day period (to July 18, 1994).

A copy of the application and the accompanying exhibits will be

available for public inspection at each of the following locations:

U.S. Department of Commerce District Office, 8182 Maryland Avenue,

Suite 303, St. Louis, MO 63105.

Office of the Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, U.S.

Department of Commerce, Room 3716, 14th Street & Constitution Avenue,

NW., Washington, DC 20230.

Dated: April 26, 1994.

John J. Da Ponte,

Executive Secretary.

[FR Doc. 94-10716 Filed 5-3-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P