NEOTEC's guidance of Foreign-Trade
Zone leads to major accomplishments across the region
Persistence is paying off for NEOTEC
and FTZ #181
KENT, OHIO…Careful,
steady effort is paying off for the Northeast Ohio Trade and Economic
Consortium (NEOTEC) and Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) #181. NEOTEC, an economic
development partnership of six Ohio counties, oversees the administration
of the foreign-trade zone. NEOTEC's guidance is leading to valuable
accomplishments in the FTZ - which begins 2001 with nine general purpose
sites and one subzone.
"The FTZ provides Customs advantages that can help
companies in the United States to compete globally," said Dale
Gibbons, NEOTEC's Interim Director.
The Director of Aviation for the Western Reserve Port
Authority and a member of NEOTEC's FTZ Committee, Tom Nolan, sees the
value of the FTZ site at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport (YWRA).
"The potential of this site is so clear because of its intermodal
nature - because of the many means of transportation at hand," Nolan
said.
Called "Aero Park", the industrial park at the
airport has more than 500 improved acres available. "The
infrastructure is ready today," Nolan explained. " We can take
any size project or facility."
The new highway interchange for State Route 11 - which
leads into the airport and the FTZ - is under construction and will be
finished in early 2002. "The interchange will complete the intermodal
aspects of the site," Nolan said.
Nolan sees air transport as the expediter of
transportation and logistics in general. "The global market opens up
with air service," he said.
At the airport FTZ site, construction of the Timken
Latrobe Steel Distribution Center is scheduled for completion in March of
this year, according to Reid Dulberger of the Youngstown-Warren Regional
Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of NEOTEC's Infrastructure Committee.
"The Center is a $12 million, 183,000 square feet facility adjacent
to the airport," Dulberger said.
After a minor FTZ site boundary modification, the
foreign-trade zone includes a new area in Jackson Township in Mahoning
County. This change brought a positive result. "CO-Steel, a Canadian
steel producer and fabricator, decided to construct a steel distribution
service center at the Jackson Township location," Dulberger
explained. "We now have a $26 million investment and a new 300,000
square feet facility."
The Western Reserve Port Authority (the owner and
operator of the YWRA) and the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber of
Commerce have formed a partnership to promote economic activity. In fact,
they see the FTZ as a generator of economic activity, according to Nolan.
"The FTZ is right here. It can accommodate the
needs of business and industry," Nolan said. "The incentives are
vast. The cost of doing business here is definitely competitive. And we
have a newly-renovated airport with global capability at the front door of
the FTZ."
Along the Ohio River at another FTZ site - at the
Wellsville Intermodal Industrial Park, the Intermodal Logistics Group (ILG)
will launch the first large scale project for container-on-barge service
in the United States, according to Tracy V. Drake, President & CEO of
the Columbiana County Port Authority and Vice-Chairman of NEOTEC's FTZ
Committee.
"Because of the work that has already been
accomplished in developing this site, ILG has chosen Wellsville as its hub
for delivery and receipt of cargo in the Northeastern part of the United
States," Drake explained.
"We need to make the most cost-effective use of
existing transportation systems. While Ohio's highways are at or near
capacity, the Ohio River is only at 30% capacity," Drake said.
"At our 66-acre Wellsville site, we want to provide industry with a
location where it can utilize barge, rail or truck modes of
transportation. Industry can either locate a plant on site or contract for
cargo transshipment."
"Our job now," Drake said, "is to get
ready for Phase II of the Park's buildout."
In Hudson, Ohio, Kobelco Stewart Bolling, Inc., is
participating in the foreign-trade zone after an FTZ site boundary
modification. Kobelco is an internationally-known designer and builder of
equipment and systems in the rubber and plastics industries.
At the Mansfield-Lahm Airport, the Gorman-Rupp Company,
manufacturer of pumps for the construction, petroleum, municipal and other
markets, recently received approval as a User/Operator in the
foreign-trade zone.
Michael Michalski, President of MCS Strategies and
NEOTEC's foreign-trade zone consultant, interacts with the FTZ Board in
Washington, D.C. on behalf of NEOTEC and the companies that are applying
to participate in the FTZ. "The FTZ Board knows that NEOTEC is
persistent in its efforts. That's NEOTEC's reputation," Michalski
said. "We have good working relationships with both the FTZ Board and
with Customs."
There are particular reasons for the success and
potential of FTZ #181, according to Michalski. "We have general
purpose warehousing facilities. A broad scope of industries and businesses
participate in the FTZ. The scope of activity includes oil refining,
automotive parts and equipment processing for the tire industry - just to
name a few examples," he explained. "And we're continuing to
work with communities and company prospects to explain FTZ benefits."
"The FTZ helps to level the playing field for those
companies doing business globally," said Michalski.
"At NEOTEC there's work going on behind the scenes
that strengthens the fabric of our regional economy," said Dale
Gibbons, NEOTEC's Interim Director. "I'm thinking especially about
the cooperation among the elected officials and the Board members of the
various counties. They are working together to provide a tool for
businesses to energize the entire region."
"The secret," said Michalski, "is
persistence."
Back to NEOTEC News Page
The Northeast Ohio
Trade and Economic Consortium (NEOTEC) is a regional economic development
partnership including Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning, Portage, Stark, Summit and
Trumbull counties, built to improve market access through the development of
the Northeast Ohio Logistics Network and to promote international commerce
through the administration of Foreign Trade Zone 181.
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