NOTICES
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[Docket 11-91]
Foreign-Trade Zone 84--Houston, TX; Application for Subzone, Goodman
Manufacturing Corp. Heating and Cooling Equipment Plant, Houston, TX
(Houston
Port of Entry Area)
Thursday, March 7, 1991
An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board (the
Board) by the Port of Houston Authority, grantee of FTZ 84, requesting
special-purpose subzone status for the heating and cooling equipment
manufacturing facility of Goodman Manufacturing Corporation (Goodman),
located in Houston, Texas. 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 February 19, 1991.
The Goodman plant (15 acres, 950 employees) is located at 1501 Seamist
Drive, Houston, near the Port of Houston. The facility is used to
manufacture and distribute a full line of residential and commercial
unitary air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces and flexible plastic duct
work under the brand names of "Janitrol", "GMC" and "Goodman Quietflex."
Foreign materials account for some 14 percent of the value of the finished
products and include capacitors, transformers, circuit breakers, spark
sensors, copper tubing, steel wire, and steel mill products such as flat
rolled steel (galvanized, aluminized, alloyed, stainless). The application
indicates that "foreign-privileged" status will be elected on all foreign
steel mill products used in production for domestic consumption. Some of
the finished equipment will be exported.
Zone procedures would exempt Goodman from Customs duty payments on the
foreign components used in the production of items for export. On its
domestic sales, the company would be able to choose, except with respect to
foreign steel mill products, the duty rate that applies to the finished air
conditioners (2.2%), heat pumps (2.9%), furnaces (3.4%), and flexible duct
work (5.3%). The duty rates on foreign materials range from 1.5 to 10.1
percent. The company would also be exempt from certain state and local
inventory taxes. Duty exemption would be sought on scrap steel (20% of
steel used). The application indicates that the savings from zone
procedures will help improve the firm's international competitiveness.
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, DC 20230;
Paul Rimmer,
Deputy Assistant Regional Commissioner,
U.S. Customs Service, Southwest Region,
5850 San Felipe Street,
Houston, TX 77057-3012; and,
Colonel Brink P. Miller,
District Engineer,
U.S. Army Engineer District Galveston,
P.O. Box 1229,
Galveston, TX 77553-1229.
Comments concerning the proposed foreign-trade subzone are invited from
interested parties. They should be addressed to the Board's Executive
Secretary at the address below and postmarked on or before April 22, 1991.
A copy of the application and accompanying exhibits will be available for
public inspection at each of the following locations:
U.S. Department of Commerce, District Office,
2625 Federal Courthouse Bldg.,
515 Rusk Street,
Houston, TX 77002.
Office of the Executive Secretary,
Foreign-Trade Zones Board,
U.S. Department of Commerce, room 4213,
14th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20230.
Dated: February 28, 1991.
John J. Da Ponte, Jr.,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 91-5398 Filed 3-6-91; 8:45 am]