The Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation (Jeffco EDC) is proud to announce that Hestra Gloves, located in Arvada, Colorado, has become the first approved site for the Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) #298.
This approved status gives Hestra Gloves the ability to defer, reduce, and even eliminate certain custom duties on products brought into and shipped out of the Colorado based distribution center.
In August of 2021, the US Department of Commerce in conjunction with the Denver Customs and Border Patrol granted Jeffco EDC the authority to establish Foreign Trade Zone 298. Foreign trades — or free trade zones (FTZ) — are secure areas under U.S. Customs that are considered outside the Customs territory of the United States. Becoming a FTZ offers companies several important benefits to include duty referral, insurance benefits, duty exemption, tax savings, international returns/quality control, among other items. A corporation using a FTZ to import can defer taxes and duties on those materials and merchandise imported, until sale of the finished product is transacted.
“Our team at Hestra is proud to be the first approved site in FTZ #298.” Stated Dino Dardano, President of Hestra. “This designation is a tremendous asset to our business, creating efficiencies and cost savings that would not otherwise be possible. Moving into the winter of 2022, this this designation allows us to manage cross-border business more efficiently with our partners in Canada, which is key to Hestra’s health and growth. Many of our staff live in Jefferson Country and we are excited to steward this program and help other businesses benefit by the development of new FTZ sites. We couldn’t have achieved this designation without the support from Jeffco EDC, the City of Arvada, and Expeditors Tradewin.”
“The process and journey to provide this tool for our business community was arduous at times, but we are proud that we have created access to this unique import and export asset for our prospering manufacturing and production companies. Hestra has been a great partner in navigating these initial processes and we are proud to call them zone number one for our FTZ,” said Jansen Tidmore, President & CEO of Jeffco EDC.
Daniel Ryley, Executive Director of the Arvada Economic Development Association stated, “We are thrilled to have Hestra Gloves’ continued investment into Arvada and Jefferson County, including the significant accomplishment of setting up the first approved site in FTZ #298. The program will not only provide significant business and growth opportunities to Hestra, but the company’s efforts pave the way for many more employers in Jefferson County to benefit. We are grateful for Jeffco EDC’s leadership in bringing the FTZ #298 to reality.”
If your company or a company you associate with is interested in learning more about the FTZ – please email Lisa Harper at lharper@jeffcoedc.org or visit our website at www.denverwestftz.com .