Foreign-Trade Zone 207Richmond International Airport, Virginia; Application for Foreign-Trade Subzone Status; Alfa Laval Thermal, Inc. (Heat Exchangers); Richmond, VA, Area

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

[Docket 47-99]

Foreign-Trade Zone 207--Richmond International Airport, Virginia;

Application for Foreign-Trade Subzone Status; Alfa Laval Thermal, Inc.

(Heat Exchangers); Richmond, VA, Area

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

(the Board) by the Capital Region Airport Commission, grantee of FTZ

207, requesting special-purpose subzone status for the manufacturing

facilities (heat exchangers and parts) of the Alfa Laval Thermal, Inc.

(Alfa Laval), located at sites in the Richmond, Virginia, area. The

application was submitted pursuant to 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 October 14, 1999.

The Alfa Laval facilities are located at three sites in the

Richmond, Virginia, area (23 acres, 115,000 sq. ft. total): Site 1 (1

building/80,000 square feet on 17 acres)--headquarters and main

manufacturing facilities, located at 5400 International Trade Drive,

Richmond; Site 2 (portion of 1 building/23,000 sq. ft.)--space used for

repairs, light manufacturing, and warehousing, at 520 East Park Court,

Woodland Center, Richmond; and Site 3 (1 building/10,500 sq. ft. on 2.2

acres)--stocking and repair facility, located at 11100 Air Park Road,

Hanover Industrial Park, Ashland.

The facilities (200 employees) are used for the engineering,

manufacture, service, and distribution of Alfa Laval's heat exhanger

products, which include plate heat exchangers, brazed heat exchangers,

spiral heat exchangers, scraped surface heat exchangers, and new or

reconditioned heat exchanger parts. Some of the components used in the

manufacturing process are purchased from abroad (an estimated 38% of

finished product value), including: nuts; screws; gaskets; washers;

adhesives; stainless steel angles, shapes, and section; needle roller

bearings; and titanium sheet (duty rates on the imported items range

from 0.4% to 15.0%). The company will also use several foreign-sourced

items that are duty free. The company indicates that it will admit the

aforementioned stainless steel products to the proposed subzone in

privileged-foreign status.

Zone procedures would exempt Alfa Laval from Customs duty payments

on foreign components used in export production. FTZ procedures will

help Alfa Laval to implement a more efficient and cost-effective system

for handling Customs requirements (including reduced Customs

merchandise processing fees). On its domestic sales, Alfa Laval would

be able to choose the lower duty rate that applies to the finished

products (0.8%) for the foreign components noted above, with the above-

noted exception of stainless steel products. The company also would

benefit from duty savings on scrap and waste resulting from the

production process (Alfa Laval estimates its scrap rate as one percent

of all components and materials). FTZ status may also make a site

eligible for benefits provided under state/local programs. The

application indicates that the savings from zone procedures would help

improve the facilities' international competitiveness, and would enable

the company to shift additional production from overseas to the

Richmond-area facilities.

In accordance with the Board's regulations, 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 December 27, 1999. Rebuttal comments in

response to material submitted during the foregoing period may be

submitted during the subsequent 15-day period to January 10, 2000.

A copy of the application and the accompanying exhibits will be

available for public inspection at each of the following locations:

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

Department of Commerce, Room 3716, 14th and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20230

U.S. Department of Commerce Export Assistance Center, 400 North 8th

Street, Suite 540, Richmond, VA 23240-0026

Dated: October 14, 1999.

Dennis Puccinelli,

Acting Executive Secretary.

[FR Doc. 99-27956 Filed 10-25-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P