Medina County Port Authority Meeting
The next Medina County Port Authority Meeting/Medina County Fiber Network Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 1st at 8:00 am.  The meeting will be held at the Medina County Economic Development Coporation office at 144 N. Broadway Street, Balcony Room B, Medina, OH.

Russ Schabel Named to Port Authority Board of Directors

Russ Schabel was appointed by the Medina County Commissioners to serve a four-year term beginning January, 2012.  Russ is Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors at Brunswick headquartered The Philpott Rubber Company, which has provided custom molded plastic and rubber parts to customers in the industrial, commercial and retail sectors since its founding in 1889.

Construction Underway on Medina County Fiber Network
The construction of the Medina County Fiber Network began in May in the Medina-Akron corridor on Route 18 and in the Brunswick Industrial Park.  Permits for underground construction in other segments of the network have been submitted to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and various municipalities.   Concurrently, the Medina County Port Authority is working with utility companies to finalize pole attachment agreements.  “Since the groundbreaking ceremony on March 11, I am very encouraged by the progress in the construction timeline,” said Bethany Dentler, Executive Director of the Medina County Economic Development Corporation.  

Helping Businesses

Foreign Trade Zones   Congress created Foreign Trade Zones (FTZ) in 1934 to facilitate international trade and increase the global competitiveness of U.S.-based companies. A Foreign Trade Zone is like an island in the sea of international commerce and is considered to be “outside of the United States”. The program continues to thrive and change to better meet the needs of American companies in the global economy. The Medina County Board of Commissioners took action to compete in the global economy in November 2004 by joining the Northeast Ohio Trade and Economic Consortium (Neotec) - Neotec is a ten county regional organization that is the Grantee of Foreign Trade Zone #181.  As a  result of that membership, Medina County now has four locations with zone designation.  Addtional locations can be approved within 30 days. Benefits of FTZ: Duty Deferral:  Customs duties are paid only when and if merchandise is transferred into U. S. Customs territory. Duty Reduction:  If the rate on the items admitted to the zone is higher than the rate applied to the finished product, the company can choose to pay the lower duty rate. Duty Elimination: No customs duties are paid on merchandise exported from a FTZ. Generally, customs duties are also eliminated for merchandise that is scrapped, wasted, destroyed or consumed in a zone. Direct Delivery: Companies can apply for authority to receive product, break seals and clear customs within the FTZ facility, thereby bypassing the congestion of seaports. Weekly Entry: Companies can reduce Merchandise Processing Fees by combining shipments on one entry filed weekly. Contact  Bethany Dentler, Executive Director of the Medina County Economic Development Corporation, at 330-722-9215 or bdentler@medinacounty.org to find out more.