A food storage facility’s purchases of freezer machinery and equipment and racking equipment qualify for the Illinois manufacturing machinery and equipment exemption because the equipment is essential to the manufacturing process. The state’s manufacturing exemption is available for machinery and equipment used primarily in the manufacturing or assembling of tangible personal property for sale or lease. Post-production storage facilities do not generally qualify for the manufacturing exemption. In this instance, the facility’s production process involves receiving meat products from customers and freezing them before shipping for further processing or resale. The freezer machinery and equipment qualify for the exemption because the product would spoil and could not be sold for human consumption without them. The racking equipment used to ensure proper air flow around and temperature of stored products qualify for the exemption since the products would not receive adequate air flow and would be destroyed without the use of the equipment. (Private Letter Ruling, ST 14-0002-PLR, Illinois Department of Revenue, June 26, 2014)