news release

Lacerta Group, Inc.’s Foreign Trade Zone Status Provides Trade Advantages and Customs Duties Benefits

Boston, April, 1997: Lacerta Group, Inc., a recycler of magnetic media and product components, not only offers its customers a full range of recycling and de-manufacturing services, but provides its customers with some unique trade benefits by virtue of its Foreign Trade Zone status.

Lacerta is located in what is commonly referred to as FTZ, a specially designated trade zone which provides the company with certain trade and customs advantages. Companies contracting with Lacerta for manufacturing, assembly and production are also able to share in these unique benefits.

Typically, merchandise shipped into the United States must pay customs duties immediately. In a FTZ, however, imports may enter and be held in an FTZ without customs duties. The benefit to the importer is that the duty is paid only when those imports are shipped into U.S. Customs territory out of the FTZ. Similarly, customs duties are not paid on merchandise exported from a FTZ.

FTZs are extremely useful to companies with large unit volumes or high dollar values of obsolete, defective, damaged, waste or scrap product. Duties on these products shipped through FTZs are reduced or eliminated, potentially saving a company substantial amounts of money.

"Although many of our customers are aware of FTZs, most have little understanding of how a FTZ relationship can benefit them. At first, we must educate our customers how to apply and utilize our FTZ status to their advantage. The benefits to our customers are not only financial, but can extend to logistics and transportation efficiencies and savings as well," explained Ali Lotfi, principal of Lacerta.

Lacerta develops and produces blister-pack and thermoformed packaging. Using state-of -the art design and packaging production equipment, Lacerta manufactures plastics packaging and provides assembly and fulfillment in its FTZ facility. The company also de-manufactures finished products (rejects, overproduction, recalls, obsolete media formats or damaged products such as video cassettes, audio cassettes, CDs, 9-track tapes, data cartridges, computer tapes and diskettes), recovers the components for possible re-use, or grinds up the components for re-use in different applications, provides de-gaussing and data destruction services and sells a data recovery cracker for data retrieval from damaged 3480/3490 type data cartridges. Materials currently being recovered include polycarbonate (PC), polystyrene (PS), polyester (PET), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), and ABS.

For more information on Lacerta Group, Inc., to request a quote on packaging or recycling services, or to receive a corporate brochure, please call Lacerta at (617) 442-3111, or email taperecycle@lacerta.com.

Copyright© Lacerta Group, Inc. 1998