RESOURCE ARTICLES
Workforce Training Opportunities Abound
Locating in the Great Southwest Industrial District gives businesses an edge on a number of levels, but many aren’t aware of the endless training opportunities that exist within two local organizations - Workforce Solutions of Tarrant County and the Division for Enterprise Development at The University of Texas at Arlington. These two organizations in particular have worked with the corporate community, listened to their needs and responded with relevant and affordable training opportunities, as well as other business service programs.
Workforce Solutions of Tarrant County provides workforce improvement services that serve both the jobseeker and small, medium and large businesses. Workforce Solutions primarily focuses their services on supporting specific industry clusters; in Tarrant County those targeted industry clusters are logistics and transportation, life sciences, hospitality, and advanced manufacturing.
Three significant programs that are offered through Workforce Solutions are Customized Training, Incumbent Worker Training, and On the Job Training. Services are funded through federal and state dollars and many are provided at no or minimal cost to the employer.
Additionally, the Division for Enterprise Development at the University of Texas at Arlington supports the university's missions of public service, community outreach and lifelong learning. The Division is comprised of a number of diverse training and consulting programs focusing on Management & Communications, Information Technology, Healthcare, E-Learning, Safety, Environmental, and Lean. Each division offers a number of certificate programs, such as Certified Financial Planner, Continuing Nursing Education, Microsoft Office Specialist Certificate, OSHA Certifications, and Lean Six Sigma Green and Black Belt.
The Division also offers Business Consulting services (skills gap analyses, enterprise expansion, and organizational development) and Conference and Event Planning, which may include site selection and negotiations, planning, logistics, financial management and marketing. And, in an effort to support your training and continued education goals, the Division will also assist with grant writing to fund these training opportunities.
For information on any of these programs, please visit www.uta.edu/ded or call 866-906-9190.
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Are you paying taxes you shouldn’t be paying?
When speaking with the companies of this industrial park, I often find myself surprised at how many aren’t aware, or taking advantage of, the triple Freeport tax exemption. Because Texas does not have a state income tax, the state taxes Business Personal Property and Inventory. However, are you aware you may not need to pay taxes on your inventory?
The triple Freeport tax exemption is a cost-savings incentive that exempts taxes on goods that have been acquired in or imported into Texas to be forwarded out of the state. This exemption allows companies to stay competitive with out-of-state firms that have no state taxes on their inventory. The word “triple” refers to a tax exemption on goods from three entities: the county, the city and the independent school district your goods are in. However, each city and ISD must pass the exemption on their own accord.
In 1999 and 2003 Grand Prairie and Arlington, respectively, passed the triple Freeport tax exemption to stay competitive in the Metroplex and to improve the vitality of the Great Southwest Industrial Park.
Unfortunately, your entire inventory may not be eligible for the triple Freeport tax exemption. The exemption only covers inventory that is detained in the state for purposes of assembling, storing, manufacturing, processing or fabricating by the person who acquired or imported the property. Furthermore, to qualify for the exemption, the goods must be transported out of state no later than 175 days after the date that the owner acquired or imported the property. Your company must file an application with the Chief Appraiser by April 30 of each year the exemption is sought. Allow me to point out again: You must apply every single year to maintain the exemption.
If you’re ready to take advantage of this exemption and save your company money, go to www.tad.org, click on “Application and Forms” link, and then click “Freeport Exemption Application Package.”
Finally, it’s important to know that it doesn’t matter if only 10%, 50% or 100% of your goods go out of state, as the exemption is valid for any exported goods no matter the percentage they comprise of your business.
Jim Hazard, of Henry S. Miller, is President of the Great Southwest Industrial District Association.
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Business Crime Watch Update
As many of you know, crime is going up across the Metroplex. In Grand Prairie we have business leaders who are ready to stop this from affecting our business. In October we initiated a Crime Watch Program, but cannot launch this program until we have 51% active participation.
Eight teams have volunteered to implement the program for their area. The first and most critical step is collecting the data. We do not have the participation needed in order for this program to succeed. We are asking all our team captains to re-commit their time to help collect the data needed.
Tim Spencer of Custom Building Products and I “walked the streets” to get signatures of Tim’s neighboring businesses, and discovered that every company we talked to was interested in signing up. This was also a great opportunity for Tim to meet his neighbors.
Don’t wait for another crime to happen. Teams, please do your part. Remember the very basis of crime prevention is that it requires everyone to do their part. So please “do your part” to help make Grand Prairie a safer place to work.
For information, please call me at 469-879-5377, or any of our GSWIDA committee members.
Jessica Romo, PDQ Temporaries, is the Great Southwest Industrial District Vice Chair.
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E-waste in, Commodities Out:
Finding Green Solutions for Our Environmental Problems
According to the EPA, 85% of domestic e-waste (electronic waste) is not being recycled. In fact, the majority of this toxic trash is either clogging our landfills or is being shipped overseas to pollute groundwater and sicken individuals. The only solution is environmentally responsible
domestic recycling.
 Recognizing the increasing need to properly dispose of obsolete electronics, Cathi Coan, president and CEO of Techway Services, unearthed the solution with a method that is safe for both workers and the ozone. She, along with partner Rick Lewis, founded Techway in 2004, and the company’s motto says it all: E-waste in, commodities
out, with a zero-landfill
initiative.
The pair recently sold a logistics
company and wanted to re-invest the money. An associate,
successful with remarketing computers, told them about a large insurance company that was upgrading its computers. He convinced the couple to invest
in the used equipment and their venture into the used computer industry began.
Though first focusing on remarketing equipment, they discovered
the need for recycling as well. Four years ago, the bulk of the electronics recycling industry was fragmented, consisting
of mostly small, local mom-and-pop shops. Coan and Lewis anticipated that as demand grew, the industry would consolidate and become more sophisticated.
As electronics recycling awareness increased, companies were not only interested in remarketing,
but they were also concerned with e-waste disposal.
Techway completed its new facility in Grand Prairie to include a major development in the industry – a $3.5 million 50-ton proprietary machinery that can separate plastics from metals and circuit boards. Techway’s facility uses zero chemicals and releases nothing into the atmosphere,
employing a completely mechanical system that poses no danger to human beings or the environment.
The company offers a one-stop solution for corporations, government entities and educational institutions with a secure chain of custody, reverse logistics,data destruction, remarketing and closed-loop recycling. The range of abilities explains Techway’s large number of Fortune
500 customers.
Because of Techway’s capabilities and national foot print, it can meet the needs of all original equipment manufacturers. The state-of-the-art facility can process nearly 150,000 pounds of e-waste per day, and customers can also receive revenue sharing on remarketed equipment and a certificate of destruction for recycled goods.
Techway Services, Inc.,
2301 N. Great Southwest Pkwy.,
Grand Prairie, TX 75050
1-888-TECHWAY (832-4929), www.techwayservices.com | www.geeptexas.com
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 Pollution Prevention (P2) Planning for Industrial Environments
Learn about pollution prevention legal requirements, key concepts, the planning process, implementation techniques and keys to success.
Download PowerPoint presentation by Heather Woodward, REM, of W&M Environmental Group: PPT or PDF
Tax Credits for Energy Savers
Federal tax credits from energy efficient improvements returned in 2009. The tax credits cover a host of commercial building and residential modifications, with credit amounts based on the nature of the energy efficient change. A number of Web sites offer information, but here’s a sample:
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