Sioux Falls businesses benefit from South Dakota Port of Entry
The South Dakota Port of Entry opened in January 1996 north of the airport to provide a place for foreign goods and passengers to clear U.S. Customs.
"The function of the port is to make sure imported goods are registered and have paid duties," says Vladimir Mirkovich, local representative for Norman G. Jensen, a national customs brokerage and freight forwarding firm. He handles customs documents and tracks shipments coming into Sioux Falls.
When Toby Fladmark imports parts for Sencore, he shaves as much as a week off delivery time by using the South Dakota Port of Entry in Sioux Falls.
The company makes test instruments and imports parts and software from Malaysia, Taiwan and Germany. "We find on either coast, there are often delays in clearing customs because of the volumes they're dealing with, " says Fladmark, a Sencore buyer. "Time is money and it does make economic sense to us to move it through the Sioux falls Port of Entry."
With the port in place, UPS now schedules a direct air freight flight to and from Calgary five days a week, and other international flights can arrange for customs clearance in Sioux Falls.
For shippers, the biggest advantage of the local port is working face to face with customs officials instead of being a number in a larger area, says Koni Schiller, from Business Aviation who helps market the port.
When Jeff Stahl from LodgeNet Entertainment brings electronic goods and components from the Far East into Sioux Falls, he says he knows when his shipments arrive and knows immediately if there are problems.
"Bigger ports are busier and slower," Stahl says. "When it comes to manufacturing, even a two-day delay in shipments can make a huge difference."
At Bell Paper Box, traffic manager Tim Bunkers knows train loads of paper can clear customs in as little as two or three hours instead of waiting a day or two in Laredo, Texas. Working with the local port is also easier, he say "I know who I'm dealing with."
For more information abut the port of entry, call 605-224-6808 or send e-mail to Info@southdakotaport.com