The McAllen Foreign Trade Zone is a not-for-profit corporation. The McAllen Foreign Trade Zone (MFTZ) was the first non-seaport foreign trade zone in the United States. As a corporation, the MFTZ consists of its Board of Directors and its Officers. The Board of Directors is made up of leading business leaders such as manufacturers, bankers, attorneys, business executives, owners of small businesses and city officials who oversee the activities of the MFTZ. The Officers are Senior Staff Members responsible for the day-to-day operations of the MFTZ. A foreign-trade zone is a "free port" that is regulated by U.S. Customs. Raw materials and/or finished goods may be brought into the Zone from another country duty-free and then may be stored, assembled, repackaged, graded, manufactured, or re-exported without payment of U.S. Customs duties.

Currently, MFTZ has a staff of 14, MFTZ's President, Keith Patridge, is responsible for the coordination and supervision of all the activities of the organization. Other professional staff works with prospective industrial clients, handles marketing and public affairs, and provides corporate support to existing manufacturing and supplier companies.

The McAllen Foreign-Trade Zone is a 783-acre industrial district on the southwest side of McAllen , located on West Military Highway (FM 1016) between South 23rd Street and South Ware Road . Approximately $1.3 billion of products move in and out of the Zone annually. This volume of business is due primarily to the companies relocating in nearby Reynosa as a part of the Maquiladora program. McAllen Foreign-Trade Zone #12 includes Sharyland Business Park , which is owned and operated by Hunt/Woodbine Development. Sharyland Business Park is a 900-acre, manufacturing, distribution and other business use sites in McAllen and Mission , Texas . This development is part of the larger development area known as the McAllen CrossPort, which includes an international airport, McAllen Foreign-Trade Zone #12, two international bridges with a third bridge under construction, which began on June 12, 2007, rail and freight outlets, countless land and building options, the Technology Center facility to assist in product design and development, and much more. McAllen Foreign-Trade Zone #12 also has a certified public scale and air-cargo facility for in-bound merchandise located at the McAllen-Miller International Airport . For more information about the McAllen Foreign-Trade Zone or the McAllen CrossPort, contact Mark Garcia, Vice President of Operations, by telephone at (956) 682-4306 , or via e-mail at mark@mftz.org.

Keith Patridge, President / C.E.O
Joyce Dean, Executive Vice President
Mark Garcia, Vice President of Operations