Two companies looking to qualify for foreign trade zone tax exemptions for their upcoming Fort Worth facilities received support from the Fort Worth City Council on Tuesday.
Toy building block company Lego and electronic components distributor TTI are building new facilities in Fort Worth. Lego is consolidating its distribution facilities in Roanoke, Texas and Haslet, Texas into one facility located on the northwest corner of Interstate 35 and Northeast Loop 820. TTI is building a campus at the northwest corner of Beach Street and Meacham Boulevard.
Council voted to approve letters that will be sent to the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board, requesting that those facilities be given the foreign trade zone status. According to the board’s website, an area with foreign trade zone status can receive a delay or reduction in duty payments for foreign merchandise. U.S. Customs and Border Protection regulates foreign trade zones.
Lego’s $52 million project will be at least 1.4 million square feet. With the new facility, Lego plans to add 250 full-time jobs paying between $12-$14 an hour. Based in Denmark, Lego is best known as the manufacture of interlocking Lego brand toys.
Third-party logistics company Excel, which manages Lego’s distribution in the U.S., is applying for foreign trade zone status on behalf of Lego.
TTI’s $40 million facility will be at least 600,000 square feet. In the new facility, TTI is expecting to retain 300-500 full-time employees, earning between $12-$14 an hour.
TTI, owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, is a distributor of passive, interconnect and electromechanical components. Mouser Electronics and Sager Electronics are subsidiaries of TTI.