The machinery of a manufacturing operation is composed of all the components making up the process, including the fixed and nonmoving parts as well as the moving parts. It must be used directly in the manufacturing process. The fact that machinery is necessary for a manufacturing process does not automatically qualify it for exemption. The primary manufacturing process is the production operation resulting in a finished product which will be transferred from the producing plant for distribution to customers or for further processing at another plant site. Production begins at a point where the raw material enters a process and is acted upon to change its size, shape, or composition or is transformed in some manner.
Production ends when the finished goods are packaged or ready for sale.
Storage facilities, including those provided for the storage of in-process materials which have been removed from the production line to await further processing, are not used directly in the manufacturing process and are subject to tax. The manufacture of industrial tools to be used in the manufacturing process. Examples include the manufacture of dies, patterns, rolls, molds, cutters and cutter blades, and like property. The processing of materials which do not become an ingredient of the finished product but are consumed as industrial supplies directly in the primary manufacturing process. Examples include water cooling systems, bottle washing preparatory to filling, and chemical processes whereby the chemical is used as a catalyst directly on the product being manufactured.