Application for Subzone at Mitel Semiconductor Plant, South Burlington, Vermont
TEXT: Notice is hereby given that an application has been submitted to the
Foreign-Trade Zones Board (the Board) by the Greater Burlington Industrial
Corporation (GBIC), A non-profit development corporation and grantee of
Foreign-Trade Zone 55, rquesting subzone status for a section of the new
manufacturing plant of the Mitel Semiconductor Division of Mitel Corporation,
located in South Burlington, Vermont, within the Burlington Customs port of
entry. It was formally filed on April 14, 1983.
On February 14, 1980, the Board authorized GBIC to establish a general-purpose
zone in the Airport Industrial Park at Burlington International Airport to serve the
Greater Burlington area (Board Order 154, 45 FR 12470, 2-26-80). The zone
became operational in May 1980, when Mitel began using the facility to test
integrated circuits as part of its $200 million worldwide manufacturing operations
involving communications products, primarily automatic switching systems.
During the past year, Mitel expanded its Burlington operations, opening a new
plant to be used for testing and assembly activity formally done abroad.
Permanent employment will increase from 40 to 165 persons. The zone was a
major factor in the company's decision to expand in the U.S.
Because Mitel's needs can no longer be provided at the general-purpose zone,
GBIC is requesting subzone status for a portion of Mitel's new manufacturing
plant, which covers 11 acres at 1000 Hinesbury Road, South Burlington,
Vermont. The subzone will cover a 20,000 square-foot section of the 90,000
square foot facility, which has been specially designed for the manufacture of
integrated circuits. The area requested for subzone status will be used to test
and cut semiconductor wafers, connect the wafer chips to lead frames, and
encapsulate the frames in insulating material, producing finished integrated
circuits for circuit boards. This process requires a "clean room" environment.
Zone procedures will exempt Mitel from duty payments on its exports, which
are over 50 percent of its business. On its domestic sales, the company will be
able to defer duty payments and to avoid duty on waste and rejects, which can
be as high as 20 percent of incoming material.
In accordance with the Board's regulations, an examiners committee has been
appointed to investigate the application and report to the Board. The committee
consists of: Dennis Puccinelli (Chairman), Foreign-Trade Zones Staff; U.S.
Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. 20230; Edward A. Goggin,
Assistant Regional Commissioner, U.S. Customs Service, Northeast Region, 100
Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110; and Colonel Walter M. Smith,
Jr., District Engineer, U.S. Army Engineer District New York, 26 Federal Plaza,
New York, NY 10278.
Comments concerning the proposed subzone are invited in writing from
interested persons and organizations. They should be addressed to the Board's
Executive Secretary at the address below and postmarked on or before May 27, 1983.
A copy of the application is available for public inspection at each of the following
locations:
Port Director's Office,
U.S. Customs Service,
Burlington International Airport,
Burlington, Vermont 05401; or
Office of the Executive Secretary,
Foreign-Trade Zones Board,
U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 1872,
Washington, D.C. 20230.
Dated: April 22, 1983.
John J. Da Ponte, Jr.,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 83-11310 Filed 4-27-83; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-25-M