CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 089053 JMH
TARIFF NO.: 8479.89.90, 8449.00.50
Pentti Pirinen
Manager
United Paper Mills Ltd.
Walkisoft Engineering
P.O. Box 40 SF-37601 Valkeakoski
FINLAND
RE: Wood pulp defibrator machines; forming sections and transfer
sections of air laid dry forming machines; Chapter 84, Note
7; Additional U.S. Rule of interpretation l(a);
Dear Mr. Pirinen
Your February 21, 1991, request for a classification ruling
concerning certain wood pulp defibrator machines and certain
forming and transfer sections of air laid dry forming machines to
be imported from Finland has been forwarded to this office.
FACTS:
The articles in question are wood pulp defibrator machines
and forming and transfer (press and embossing) sections of an
air laid dry forming machine. Air laid dry forming is a process
whereby air, instead of water, is used to transport and deposit
individual fibers onto a moving belt in order to form them into a
continuous sheet or web. The air laid dry forming line consists
basically of machines which prepare and feed pulp fibers, and the
air laid forming machine. The air laid forming machine consists
of forming, compacting, embossing, grinding, drying and reeling
sections. The air laid dry forming process produces hybrid
materials which combine the disposabilitY of paper products with
the feel and absorbent qualities associated with textile
materials. Products of the air laid dry forming process are used
as wipes, towels, napkins, and hygiene and medical articles.
The fiber preparation area consists of a machine to unwind
continuous sheets of pulp, a pulp defibrator machine to defribate
the pulp sheets into individual fibers, and an air handling
system which is used to blow the pulp fibers into the forming
section of the air laid dry forming machine. The forming
section consists of two perforated drums rotating inside a
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housing known as the forming head. The fibers circulate
horizontally between the drums and are drawn by means of a vacuum
onto a belt which continuously moves beneath the rotating drums.
This results in the formation of a continuous fiber web. The web
passes through a press where it is compacted, and embossers where
a pattern is imparted to the web in order to give it added
strength. In the binder application section a latex emulsion is
sprayed onto the material so that the fibers will adhere to each
other and will not separate when moistened. The drying section
is utilized to cure the binder and dry the web, thus increasing
its resiliency and tactile qualities. Finally, the web passes
through a calender and is wound onto a reel.
Dry forming has several advantages when compared to the
conventional process of forming a web from a wet suspension.
First, dry forming eliminates the need to move, recover and
purify a vast amount of water. Secondly, dry forming reduces the
energy requirements of the forming process. Thirdly, dry forming
minimizes pollution.
ISSUE:
What is the appropriate classification for the defibrator
machines and the forming and transfer sections of the air laid dry
forming machines?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The classification of merchandise under the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated ("HTSUSA") is
governed by the General Rules of Interpretation ("GRIs"). GRI 1,
HTSUSA, states in part that "for legal purposes, classification
shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and
any relative section or chapter notes and...according ..to the
following provisions." Classification is based upon the
condition of the articles at the time of importation. United
States v. Citroen, 223 U.S. 407 (1911).
The Defibrator Machines
The headings in contention for the classification of the
defibrator machines are headings 8439 and 8479, HTSUSA. These
headings describe the following
8439 Machinery for making pulp of fibrous
cellulosic material or for making or
finishing paper or paperboard (other than the
machinery of heading 8419); parts thereof...
* * * *
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8479 Machines and mechanical appliances having
individual functions, not specified or
included elsewhere in this chapter; parts
thereof...
The defibrator serves to break a roll of continuous pulp
into individual fibers which can then be blown to the forming
section of the air laid forming machine. The defibrator does not
make pulp, but takes pulp which has already been made and
compressed into a continuous sheet at a pulp mill and crumbles
this pulp. This crumbling results in individual pulp fibers.
Such defibrators are also used with machines for the manufacture
of diapers and other sanitary products, where the pulp is
utilized as an absorbent layer.
The importer refers to this defibrator as a hammermill.
Explanatory Note 84.39(I)(D), Harmonized Commodity Description
and Coding System ("HCDCS") includes hammermills as an exemplar.
HCDCS, Vol. 4, p.1228. The Explanatory Notes, although not
dispositive, are to be referred to regarding the proper
interpretation of the HTSUSA. 54 Fed. Reg 35127, 35128 (August
23, 1989). The defibrator in question is not analogous to the
hammermill mentioned in Explanatory Note 84.39(I)(D).
Explanatory Note 84.39(I)(D) refers to beaters. Beater
hammermills consist of large tanks with a grinding rotor. Beater
hammermills are used to beat pulp fibers suspended in water in
order to improve the quality of the pulp fibers during the
process of making pulp.
The principal purposes of the defibrators is to break up
continuous rolls of pulp. The defibrators do not make paper, and
thus, do not meet the terms of heading 8439 as required by GRI 1.
The principal purpose of the defibrators is not specifically
described by any heading. Therefore, Chapter 84, Note 7, HTSUSA,
requires that the defibrators be classified under heading 8479.
The proper classification for the defibrator machines is
subheading 8479.89.90, HTSUSA, as "Machines and mechanical
appliances having individual functions, not specified or included
elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof...Other machines and
mechanical appliances...Other..."
The Forminq and Transfer Sections
In order to classify the forming and transfer sections it is
first necessary to classify the air laid forming machine of which
the sections are parts. The importer states that the particular
air laid forming machine into which the imported sections will be
incorporated will form wood pulp into what is claimed to be a
paper article. Thus, the importer believes that the
classification of the air laid dry forming machines is in heading
8439. However, the literature submitted with the ruling request
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also indicates that other raw materials, such as synthetic or
natural textile fibers, can also be utilized by air laid dry
forming machines. Therefore, classification in heading 8449,
HTSUSA, must also be considered. Thus, the headings in contention
are headings 8439 and 8449. These headings describe
the following:
8439 Machinery for making pulp of fibrous
cellulosic material or for making or
finishing paper or paperboard (other than the
machinery of heading 8419); parts thereof...
* * * *
8449 Machinery for the manufacture or finishing of
felt or nonwovens in the piece...
Chapter 84, Note 7 states that when a machine is used for
more than one purpose, its principal purpose is to be treated as
its sole purpose. Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation l(a),
HTSUSA, requires that the principal use of an article is deemed
to be the principal use of the class or kind of articles in the
United States at the time of importation.
It is the opinion of this office that the principal use of
air laid dry forming machines in the United States at this time
is the production of nonwovens. Thus, the principal purpose of
the air laid dry forming machines in question is the production of
nonwovens. Explanatory Note 84.49, HCDCS, states that
heading 8449 includes "[m]achines for the manufacture of
nonwovens (such as those employing the dry process, wet process
or direct spinning)." HCDCS, Vol. 4, p. 1254. We note that
machines of this type are advertised in Nonwovens Industry
magazine. Additionally, in "Flexibility of Air Forming in
Engineered Nonwovens" published in the February, 1987, issue of
Nonwovens Industry, the ability of air laid dry forming machines
to utilize various feedstocks other than wood pulp to produce
nonwoven materials is emphasized. These other feedstocks include
fiberglass, polyester, polypropylene, nylon, mineral wool,
ceramic fiber, carbon fiber, rayon and other natural and man-made
fibers.
The air laid dry forming machines in question are of the
class of kind of machines used principally in the United States
for the production of nonwovens. Thus, in accordance with
Chapter 84, Note 7 and GRI 1, the air laid dry forming machines
meet the terms of heading 8449. The forming and transfer (press
and embossing) sections are parts of the machines of heading
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8449. The proper classification for the forming and transfer
sections is subheading 8449.00.50, HTSUSA, as "Machinery for the
manufacture or finishing of felt or nonwoVens in the piece..."
HOLDING:
The principal purposes of the defibrators in question is to
break up continuous rolls of pulp. The principal purpose of the
defibrators is not specifically described by any heading.
Therefore, Chapter 84, Note 7, HTSUSA, requires that the
defibrators be classified under heading 8479. The proper
classification for the defibrator machines is subheading
8479.89.90, HTSUSA, as "Machines and mechanical appliances having
individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this
chapter; parts thereof...Other machines and mechanical
appliances...Other..."
The air laid dry forming machines in question are of the
class or kind of machines used principally in the United States
for the production of nonwovens. Thus, in accordance with
Chapter 84, Note 7 and GRI 1, the air laid dry forming machines
meet the terms of heading 8449. The forming and transfer (press
and embossing) sections are parts of the machines of heading
8449. The proper classification for the forming and transfer
sections is subheading 8449.00.50, HTSUSA, as "Machinery for the
manufacture or finishing of felt or nonwovens in the piece..."
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division