Foreign trade zone status activated by Bender Group

Bender Group said last week that it's activated foreign-trade zone designation on its logistics facility on Parr Boulevard in Reno.

The company provides third-party logistics warehousing, distribution and related services to Audiovox Electronics Corp. in a portion of the building.

Within areas designated as part of the northern Nevada foreign trade zones, customs duties are deferred on imported merchandise that's headed for U.S. markets.

Merchandise that's re-exported is allowed into the zone duty-free. A retailer, for instance, can import merchandise into a distribution center in a foreign trade zone and delay paying duties until the goods are shipped to its stores.

Customs procedures also are less onerous in a foreign-trade zone.

Audiovox, which is headquartered at Hauppauge, N.Y., sells automotive sound and security systems, radio and navigation products and home electronics.

The company has contracted with Bender to use about 75,000 square feet of the building for third-party logistics services.

Jared Lindwell, manager of business development for Bender Group, said another 116,000 square feet is available in the building, and Bender is looking for logistics customers to use it.

He said the company's marketing focuses on the technological edge it gains from proprietary and off-the-shelf software that manages inventory and foreign-trade-zone operations.

Bender Group owns 30 acres that are designated for foreign-trade zone operations.

The northern Nevada foreign trade zone isn't a defined block of property. Instead, it's applied to individual buildings and industrial parks after owners seek the designation.

Founded in 1945 with a 60,000-square-foot public warehouse in Reno, the Bender Group now includes third-party distribution operations and warehousing from facilities at Reno, Woodland, Calif., and Winchester, Va. The company also runs trucking services and provides supply-chain consulting services.