BROWARD COUNTY, FL - ProdecoTech, an electronic bicycle (e-bike) manufacturer in Oakland Park, FL, has received federal approval to conduct their production activity as a non-contiguous site within Port Everglades Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) No. 25, which allows the company to save approximately 4 percent of the cost of their finished products by eliminating U.S. Customs duties on the foreign components.
(l-r) David Herbert, Oakland Park City Manager; Steven Cernak; Port Everglades Chief Executive & Port Director; James Aversa, Robert Provost and Daniel Del Aguila from ProdecoTech; and Broward County Commissioner Dale V.C. Holness.
(l-r) David Herbert, Oakland Park City Manager; Steven Cernak; Port Everglades Chief Executive & Port Director; James Aversa, Robert Provost and Daniel Del Aguila from ProdecoTech; and Broward County Commissioner Dale V.C. Holness.
"Most of our e-bikes, 95 percent, are customized with components that are imported from the Far East and assembled here in the United States along with components that are manufactured domestically," said ProdecoTech's Daniel Del Aguila, who owns the company with partner Robert Provost.  "By applying for and obtaining FTZ status for the production and warehouse part of our operations, we are able to save on Customs duties on the foreign parts and improve our bottom line." Parts for ProdecoTech's e-bikes are made in China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam and the United States. The company has a 60,000-square-foot facility off of Dixie Road, of which about half is an FTZ-activated warehouse and production facility. During a reception to celebrate the manufacturer's entry into the FTZ program, representatives from Samsung introduced a battery pack designed exclusively for ProdecoTech e-bikes. FTZ No. 25, which includes companies that import and export everything from auto parts to cosmetics, helps businesses of all sizes to implement more effective economical solutions for cargo storage, warehousing and distribution, merchandise manipulation and manufacturing needs. Established in 1934, the federal FTZ program, of which FTZ No. 25 at Port Everglades is the first in Florida, provides substantial savings and incentives to manufacturers and distributors in the United States. The most popular FTZ benefits include duty exemptions on re-exported goods, relief from inverted tariffs, duty referral, and duty elimination on waste, scrap, and yield loss. While the U.S. government may incur a reduction in Customs duty revenue, it gains from income tax generated from jobs created and retained. Local governments benefit from sales and property taxes.