Fire Truck Builder Adds Foreign Trade Zone

LYONS, S.D. (AP) — A Lyons fire truck manufacturer has received designation as a foreign trade zone.

The Argus Leader reports that Rosenbauer America's 10-acre campus received the designation in October. It allows the company to ship imported components directly to the site and pay duties as items are used instead of upon delivery.

Chief Executive Harold Boer says it allows the company to clear customs right in the small community of Lyons, which is north of Sioux Falls.

International contract administrator Bill Palmer says to make having the zone worthwhile, companies must do enough importing and exporting to outweigh the cost of maintaining the zone.

The company worked through an 18-month process with the South Dakota International Trade Center to establish the zone.

Rosenbauer America manufactures pumpers, tankers and rescue vehicles.

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