[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 17, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76611-76612]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-29983]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

[Docket 66-2008]


Foreign-Trade Zone 100--Dayton, Ohio; Application for Subzone 
Status; Thor Industries, Inc. (Recreational Vehicles Manufacturing); 
Jackson Center, OH

    An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board 
(the Board) by the Greater Dayton Foreign-Trade Zone, Inc., grantee of 
Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) 100, requesting special-purpose subzone status 
for the recreational vehicle manufacturing and distribution facilities 
of Thor Industries, Inc. (Thor) and its Airstream, Inc. subsidiary 
located in Jackson Center, Ohio. 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 December 4, 2008.
    The Thor facility (89 acres, 12 buildings, 340 employees) is 
located at 419 West Pike Street in Jackson Center, Ohio, and is used 
for the manufacture, testing, warehousing and distribution of various 
types of recreational vehicles, including motor homes, travel trailers 
and fifth wheels (HTSUS numbers 8703.23, 8703.24, 8703.31, 8703.32, 
8703.33 and 8716.10). At full capacity the Thor facility can produce up 
to 115 motor homes and 2,250 travel trailers and fifth wheels annually. 
Imported components and raw materials account for approximately 57 
percent of the finished products' value. Parts and components that may 
be imported into the proposed subzone for manufacturing include: Glues 
and adhesives; plastic tubes, pipes and hoses; plastic floor coverings; 
self-adhesive plastic sheets, film, foil, tape and strip; plastic 
baths, shower baths, sinks and washbasins; plastic lavatory seats and 
covers; plastic flushing cisterns; plastic fittings for furniture; 
other plastic articles; compounded rubber plates, sheet or strip; 
vulcanized rubber sheets, strip and rods; vulcanized rubber tubes, 
pipes and hoses with or without fittings; pneumatic rubber tires; 
vulcanized rubber floor coverings; vulcanized rubber gaskets, washers, 
seals and other articles; ceramic sinks, washbasins, baths, bowls, 
bidets, flush-tanks and urinals; safety glass; windshields; rear-view 
mirrors; glass-fiber sheets, webs, mattresses and mats; platinum wire 
cloth or grill catalysts; iron or steel sleeves, butt-weld fittings, 
elbows, flanges or other articles; self-tapping screws; iron or steel 
screws and bolts with or without washers; iron or steel hooks, rivets, 
cotters, cotter pins and washers; spring washers; leaf springs and 
leaves; helical springs; hair springs; copper, iron or steel nails, 
tacks and drawing pins; copper pot scourers, polishing pads and parts; 
aluminum tubes, pipes and pipe fittings; aluminum screws, screw hooks, 
nails, tacks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins and washers; base-metal 
locks; base-metal mountings, brackets, fittings and castors; iron or 
steel flexible tubing; fuel, lubricating and cooling pumps for internal 
combustion engines; air and vacuum pumps and their parts; air 
conditioning machines and parts; check valves; safety and relief 
valves; thermostatically-controlled valves and their parts; electric 
motors and generators; static converters; lead-acid storage batteries; 
starter motors and generators; other generators; lighting and visual-
signaling equipment; sound-signaling equipment; windshield wipers, 
defrosters, demisters and their parts; microwave ovens; water heaters, 
ovens, stoves and ranges; electric sound amplifier sets and their 
parts; sound turntables; sound reproducing apparatus; television 
receivers; antennas and antenna reflectors; reception apparatus parts; 
burglar and fire alarms; circuit breakers; relays; optical fiber 
cables; electrical switches; lamp holders; electrical consoles; sealed-
beam electrical lamps; halogen lamps; electrical discharge lamps and 
their parts; insulated wire cable with connectors; diesel-powered motor 
vehicle chassis not exceeding 5 metric tons; diesel-powered motor 
vehicle chassis exceeding 5 metric tons

[[Page 76612]]

up to 20 metric tons; diesel-powered motor vehicle chassis exceeding 20 
metric tons; spark-ignition internal combustion engine-powered motor 
vehicle chassis not exceeding 5 metric tons; spark-ignition internal 
combustion engine-powered motor vehicles exceeding 5 metric tons; road 
wheels and parts; trailers, semi-trailers and their parts; optical 
appliances and instruments; hydrometers, thermometers, pyrometers, 
barometers, hygrometers, psychrometers and their parts; gas or smoke 
analysis apparatus; speedometers, tachometers and stroboscopes; engine-
testing equipment; voltage regulators and their parts; rubber or 
plastic mattresses; and, mattress supports. The duty rates on the 
imported components range from duty-free to 25 percent.
    This application requests authority for Thor to conduct the 
manufacturing activity under FTZ procedures, which could exempt the 
company from customs duty payments on the imported components used in 
export production. Up to 5 percent of production could be exported. On 
domestic sales, the company could defer duty payment and choose the 
lower duty rate (duty-free to 5.7 percent) that applies to the finished 
products for the imported components used in manufacturing. Thor may 
also realize savings related to direct delivery and weekly customs 
entry procedures. The company would also realize savings on the 
elimination of duties on materials that become scrap/waste during 
manufacturing. The application indicates that the FTZ-related savings 
would improve the plant's international cost competitiveness.
    In accordance with the Board's regulations, Christopher Kemp of the 
FTZ staff is 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 listed below. The closing period for their 
receipt is February 17, 2009. Rebuttal comments in response to material 
submitted during the foregoing period may be submitted during the 
subsequent 15-day period (to March 2, 2009.
    A copy of the application and accompanying exhibits will be 
available at each of the following addresses: Greater Dayton Foreign-
Trade Zone, Inc., 300 Terminal Drive, Dayton, OH 45377; and, Office of 
the Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, Room 2111, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20230. For further information contact Christopher Kemp at 
[email protected] or (202) 482-0862.

    Dated: December 4, 2008.
Andrew McGilvray,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-29983 Filed 12-16-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P