One of the keys to Rickenbacker’s success is the fact that numerous companies are benefiting from doing business in this highly desirable location. The following stories offer a glimpse into some of the ways that companies are maximizing the benefits offered by doing business at Rickenbacker.

Optical Village® Focuses on Benefits of Rickenbacker

Being able to order a pair of glasses and have them custom-made and delivered the next day may seem next to impossible, but the process is happening right now at Rickenbacker, thanks to Airborne Logistics Services (ALS), a subsidiary of Airborne Express.

Recognizing the consumers' need for speedy service along with the need for cost efficiency for eyeglass manufacturers, ALS partnered with six eyeglass companies and Pizutti Development Company to form Optical Village® at Rickenbacker.

Conceptualized in the summer of 1996, Optical Village® is an ordinary cluster of buildings in which extraordinary things are being done, quickly.

Prior to the Optical Village® concept, a person ordering a pair of glasses would have to wait weeks until they were assembled. Retail outlets would store enormous amounts of inventory to meet the prescription and design needs of the customer base, but this style of inventory management often failed because popular frames would change.

ALS drew partly on the model of the automotive business where parts suppliers cluster at a single location in support of a given automaker. Similar supply chains are taking shape in the high-tech world, especially for computer manufactures. They want parts close at hand, but don't want to make delivery until the last possible moment.

ALS began to envision a production and distribution complex where all makers of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, lenses, frames and finished eyewear would operate in one place, supplying retailers and customers on a nationwide basis. The optical industry was an ideal candidate for ALS first vertical outreach. The business generates mostly small, light packages shipped overnight, Airborne's forte.

Eyewear makers are also under intense pressure from managed-care health plans to cut costs, even as they produce a huge variety of frame styles and lenses for the fashion-driven retail market. By grouping together, manufactures can cut costs since shipping between facilities is eliminated. Now the only shipment is made to the customer's home.

ALS Website: als.airborne.com
E-Mail: kevin.clark@airborne.com

Dorcy Shines at Rickenbacker

"The leader in quality flashlight products," Dorcy International is the nation's fastest growing flashlight company. For 35 years, the company has been manufacturing and distributing a wide-range of lighting products, including lanterns, spotlights, head lamp lanterns and a multitude of flashlights, from aluminum to rubber, and all-purpose to waterproof.

Over the past seven years, Dorcy has continually increased its sales and market share in the United States, while expanding its staff and warehousing and assembly/manufacturing space at Rickenbacker International Airport. The company imports much of its materials and merchandise, and benefits greatly by being located in Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) No.138 at Rickenbacker.

In fact, Dorcy attributes much of its success to its location in FTZ 138. Like many other companies at Rickenbacker, Dorcy is able to defer, reduce and at times even eliminate duties on overseas cargo, efforts which have enabled the company to enjoy double-digit sales growth over the past several years.

"Because our product line comes in with high import duty, we chose the location at Rickenbacker so we could be included in the Foreign-Trade Zone," said Ted Davis, President of Dorcy. "We have realized the benefits we thought we would in terms of duty deferral and the expansion of our export business".

Dorcy has not only increased its sales growth at Rickenbacker, but the company has also increased its space at the airport. According to Davis, Dorcy has more than doubled its size since relocating to Rickenbacker, including expanding its current facility with a warehouse addition and its usage of an outside storage area in the zone.

"The three reasons we came to Rickenbacker were tax savings, duty deferral and export expansion, and we have been able to achieve all three,” Davis said.

At its Rickenbacker location, Dorcy receives assembled flashlights that have been shipped from China to the West Coast. In Columbus, Dorcy packages the flashlights with batteries and ships them to such customers as Sears, K-Mart and Wal-Mart.

The FTZ location has proven to be quite a money-saving asset for Dorcy. Prior to its move from Downtown Columbus, Dorcy had to pay 12.5 percent duty on flashlight parts as soon as they arrived from the West Coast. Now, the company is able to postpone the duty payments until the flashlights arrive at Rickenbacker and are packaged and shipped. Therefore, payments are deferred as long as it takes to move the goods, which can take up to 90 days or longer.

Another business boost that Dorcy has experienced since relocating to Rickenbacker is the ability to re-export goods from an FTZ, which means it pays no duty on the merchandise. Dorcy's exports to Argentina, Canada, and the United Kingdom make up 15 percent of company sales.

According to Davis, Dorcy's future at Rickenbacker will include a focus on continued growth of sales and market share in the United States. The company also anticipates further development of its export business.

"Rickenbacker has been a very fruitful location for our business. We have achieved everything we had hoped to achieve by moving here," Davis said. "We also have virtually no personnel turnover at this location, and that is in part because Dorcy associates find our facility at Rickenbacker to be a very convenient and pleasant place to work. We are looking forward to a continued expansion of our business and success here at Rickenbacker.”

Dorcy Website: www.dorcy.com
E-Mail: ted@dorcy.com