NOTICES
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
(Docket No. 24-93)
Foreign-Trade Zone 161--Sedgwick County, KS (Wichita Area) Application for
Subzone; Sanofi Winthrop Pharmaceutical Plant, McPherson, KS
Friday, June 18, 1993
An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board (the
Board) by the Board of County Commissioners of Sedgwick County, Kansas,
grantee of FTZ 161, requesting special-purpose subzone status for the
pharmaceutical manufacturing facility of Sanofi Winthrop L.P. (joint venture
between Elf Sanofi (France) and Sterling Winthrop Inc./Eastman Kodak
Company, hereinafter referred to as Sanofi Winthrop) in McPherson, Kansas,
adjacent to the Wichita Customs port of entry. 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 June 8, 1993.
Sterling Winthrop is a global pharmaceutical firm whose primary product
liens include: diagnostic imaging agents, hormonal products,
cardiovasculars, analgesics, antihistamines and muscle relaxants. In 1991,
Sterling Winthrop and Elf Sanofi, a French pharmaceutical and health care
products company, formed the Sanofi Winthrop alliance to jointly develop,
manufacture and market products worldwide. This proposal is part of an
overall company cost reduction effort. (Applications are pending for plants
in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico (FTZ Doc. 18-93, 58 FR 29192, 5-19-93) and
Rensselaer, New York (FTZ Doc. 22-93). Another application is being
submitted for its facility in Des Plaines, Illinois).
Sanofi Winthrop's Kansas plant (160 acres, 2 bldgs., 265,000 sq. ft.) is
located at 1776 North Centennial Drive, McPherson (Mcpherson County), some
40 miles north of Wichita. The facilities (430 employees) are primarily
engaged in the production of dental anesthetics such as "Carbocaine" and
"Demerol" and radio diagnositc imaging agents, such as "Hypaque" and
"Hypaque Meglumine". Company plans call for possible expansion of the
plant's product lines to include cardiovascular, oncological and certain
other diagnostic products. The company performs contract manufacturing at
the plant, primarily "lyophilization" (freeze drying) for biotechnology
firms. Foreign-sourced materials used at the plant account for, on average,
13 percent of the finished products' value and include primarily diatrizoate
acid and diatrizoate meglumine at this time. The company may also purchase
from abroad products in the following general categories:
Empty pharmaceutical capsules, yttrium or scadium metal compounds,
hydrocarbons, alcohols, phenols, ethers, epoxides, acetals, aldehydes,
ketone function compounds, mono- and polycarboxylic acids, phosphoric
esters, amine-, carboxymide, nitrile- and oxygen-function compounds,
hydrazine or hydroxylamine, heterocyclic compounds, sulfonamides, vitamins,
hormones, vegetable alkaloids, blood/vaccines/toxins/cultures, sugars,
antibiotics, gelatins, enzymes, packaging, medical instruments/appliances
and parts thereof, medicaments, and other pharmaceutical products.
Zone procedures would exempt Sanofi Winthrop from Customs duty payments on
foreign materials used in production at the McPherson plant for export. On
domestic sales, the company would be able to choose the duty rates that
apply to the finished products (duty-free to 16.2%, with most falling in
the 6.3%-6.9% range). The duty rates on foreign-sourced items range from
duty-free to 23.5 percent, with most falling within the 3.7%-7.9% range.
The application indicates that zone savings will help improve the plant's
international competitiveness.
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 is invited from interested parties. Submissions
(original and 3 copies) shall be addressed to the Board's Executive
Secretary at the address below. The closing period for their receipt is
August 17, 1993. Rebuttal comments in response to material submitted during
the foregoing period may be submitted during the subsequent 15-day period
(to September 1, 1993). 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,
151 N. Volutsia,
Wichita, Kansas 67214-6160.
Office of the Executive Secretary,
Foreign-Trade Zones Board,
U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 3716,
14th & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20230.
Dated: June 11, 1993.
John J. Da Ponte, Jr.,
Executive Secretary.
(FR Doc. 93-14450 Filed 6-17-93; 8:45 am)