PRC expected to bring 400 new jobs to Durant

Staff writer, Durant Daily Democrat

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.- PRC announced Thursday that it is creating 400 new jobs in Durant.

“This has been in the works for a while, but we wanted to make sure, with the sale of the company, that it didn't get lost in with the rest of the news,” said PRC corporate publicist Alicia Miyares, “This is huge for Durant, but it is also huge for us nationally. Any time we look for a new location, we try to find the best match for our customer base. Durant is a fantastic match for us, with the high quality of the labor market.”

PRC specializes in customer management for some of the world's most brand-focused corporations, according to Miyares “We provide outsourced customer management for a company's sales and customer management helping them acquire, grow and retain customer relationships.”

PRC will be subleasing space from NexxLinx, on Radio Road, and currently new job openings will include management, customer support and technology positions, each focused on supporting PRC's Fortune 500 client base. PRC has 14,000 team members worldwide, and according to Miyares the company is “really excited about being in Durant.”

“The City of Durant is delighted to welcome PRC into our community,” said Mayor Jerry Tomlinson, “There is no doubt the proven track record and stability of this company will make it one of our leading corporate citizens. The employment opportunities offered by this outstanding company are a perfect match for our well-trained workforce, and we look forward to a long and profitable partnership.”

“With the attributes that Durant has to offer, we feel this is an ideal community to deliver results for the Fortune 500 clients we support and we are looking forward to completing our hiring,” said John G. Hall, PRC CEO.

Patricia Benitez has more than 22 years of experience in the contact center industry and has been a resident of Durant for 11 years. She was the general manager for Customer Linx for 6 years and recently was hired by PRC in August.

According to a press release released by the company, PRC employs about 14,000 people worldwide, with clients including British Airways, DIRECTV, US Airways and Sprint.

“This is just another great example of what can be accomplished with the help of Chairman John Cathey, Mayor Tomlinson, the City council, the chamber of commerce, the Durant Industrial Authority, and Economic Development working together as Team Durant,” said Tommy Kramer, executive director of the Durant Industrial Authority, “This is a big ‘Merry Christmas' to Durant.”

Charles McCall, III, Chairman of the Atoka City Industrial Development Authority (ACIDA) announced today that Wood designs, LLC has established a production facility in Atoka. “ACIDA is extremely pleased and excited to have a quality company like Wood designs locate in our city. We continue to attract quality companies to Atoka and we expect more announcements in the near future.”  

Wood designs is a full service store fixture manufacturer headquartered in Oklahoma City. Founded in 1961, the company is still privately held by the family of the original founders. The company’s customer base includes such nationally recognized names as Ralph Lauren, Golf USA, Tommy Hilfiger, Taco Mayo and Dillard’s.

R. Scott Griffin, Senior Vice-President of Wood designs, stated the company had been considering expansion for several years but had not found the right location. When they learned of the Ethan Allen plant closing they decided, “Atoka could be the place”. “We currently have 130 employees at our Oklahoma City location and are operating at full capacity. We were having trouble finding additional qualified employees and although we hated to learn of the Ethan Allen plant closing, it has provided us with an excellent pool of well-trained employees to hire from.”
The company has leased a 30,000 sq. ft. building in the Atoka City Industrial Park, located adjacent to US Hwy 69 in the northern portion of the city. Wood designs has already hired sixteen persons and plans to have twenty to twenty-five employees by the end of the month. Company projections call for as many as seventy-five new jobs in Atoka within the next three years.

‘When Mr. Griffin first contacted me in late November, he stated he needed good quality employees and a building,” said Phil Scoggin, Economic Development Director for ACIDA. I told him “we have the employees and if we could not find a building, we will build one.”  And to prove our point, ACIDA and the Kiamichi Technology Center in Atoka sponsored a Job Fair for the company in early December that attracted over 100 applicants. Scoggin continued “I can’t say enough good things about Ms. Elaine Gee and her staff at the Kiamichi Technology Center. They never hesitate to assist ACIDA in any way they can. We are very fortunate to have Ms. Gee and the Technology Center in Atoka.”

            Amethyst Research, Inc. has also announced that they will move into the Technology Transfer Center by the end of the month.  Amethyst is a start-up company involved in developing advanced semiconductor process technology that will be used to manufacture next generation infrared (IR) “night vision” imagers.  The company will employ five people by the end of the year, including two Ph. D. level scientists.

            The Ardmore Technology Transfer Center is located on the campus of the Southern Oklahoma Technology Center.  The Transfer Center is a business incubator facility for technology oriented companies and is a project of the Ardmore Development Authority, the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc. and the Southern Oklahoma Technology Center (SOTC).  Business incubators are facilities designed to accelerate the development and success of start-up and existing businesses.

            Dr. Terry Golding (Amethyst Research Inc.) explains the commercial benefits of their company’s process.  “This could clear the way for a sea change in the infrared focal plane array industry and the imaging applications it serves.  This could dramatically improve the lives and effectiveness of a broad range of users, such as soldiers and fire fighters.”

            The long-term objective of the incubator of the project is to create a technology park in Ardmore that will focus on commercial ventures based on scientific research,” states Brien Thorstenberg (ADA Vice President).  This will create more professional jobs in the community.”

By James Beaty
Senior Editor

The Dura-Line plant in McAlester plans to increase in size from 40,000 to 80,000 square feet.
Plant Manager David Leeper said the expansion is expected to be completed within four months and will result in significant job creation over the next two-to-three years.
“It’s going to be a big opportunity” for more employees to work at the plant, which has been operating in McAlester for less than a year.
The plant manufactures conduit for the telecommunication and power industries, Leeper said.
He expected dirt work on the project to begin as early as today.
“It will take from 90 to 120 days to do the expansion,” he said.
The McAlester plant currently has 51 employees and plans on eventually adding more over the next three years until the total reaches 93, he said.
In addition to the building expansion, Leeper said the parking lot and pipe yard at the plant will be paved and a new loading dock and gravel lot will be added along with the new building.
Leeper said McAlester businessman Francis Stipe is constructing the building.
“We will lease it,” he said.
Leeper attributed the McAlester plant’s success to several factors.
“Locale is one and the work crews we have are doing an exceptional job,” he said.
“We haven’t had any customer complaints and we’ve produced close to 6,000 miles of pipe,” Leeper said. “We’re doing exceptionally well.”
Dura-Line started its McAlester operation at the Steven W. Taylor Industrial Park last July to serve the company’s customers in the Southwest.
McAlester got the nod for the new plant after considering several factors, according to the company.
Dura-Line credited the owner of the facility, AOK Railroad, the McAlester Foundation and the McAlester Economic Development Service as being instrumental in making it happen.
The cooperation Dura-Line received from the local business community proved to be a significant factor in the decision to expand the McAlester facility, instead of opening an additional location in Texas, according to Leeper.
“The McAlester plant continues to be a success story for the corporation,” Leeper said. “The credit can be given to the local government, local community and the dedicated employees of the plant.”
Anyone interested in applying to work at Dura-Line can contact Deelynn Hall at 302-0330, according to Leeper.
The Dura-Line Corp., headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., and the Arnco Corp., based in Elyria, Ohio, were recently acquired by the Audax Corp., a Boston-based private equity company.
Both Dura-Line and Arnco manufacture and distribute extruded high-density polyethylene duct, pipe, and conduit products for the telecommunications industry, as well as for power utility, electrical and cable markets.
The new merged company will be named A-D Technologies, and both Dura-Line and Arnco will operate as divisions within the company. Robert F. Smith, the former owner and chief executive officer of Arnco and Paresh Chari, the former chief executive officer of Dura-Line, will continue to lead the combined company.
Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.

Plant targets expansion towards the U.S.Hispanic market

May 18, 2006 -- San Pedro Garza García, N. L., Mexico. – Sigma Alimentos, S.A de C. V. (Sigma), the leader in refrigerated foods in Mexico, announced today it will build a plant for the production of cold cuts in Seminole, Okla. The company expects the new plant to begin operations during the third quarter of 2007.
“Our current and potential penetration in our target market, justifies the building of a plant in the U.S.” commented Mario Paez, Sigma’s President. “We want to be closer to better serve our Hispanic customers. The new plant will join our current 10 distribution centers in operation, plus the ones we plan to open in the near future,” he added.
The plant, located in Seminole, will require an initial investment of approximately 50 million dollars, which will include a state-of-the-art, highly-automated plant. Construction will begin within the next two months. Employment will start at 200 jobs, and expand to 300.
“The announcement that Sigma-Alimentos will construct a plant in Seminole is great news for that town and for all of Oklahoma,” said Governor Brad Henry. “Sigma knows Oklahoma is a business-friendly state that boasts a tremendously hard-working and highly skilled workforce.”
Oklahoma’s location was a significant factor in Sigma’s decision. “Oklahoma is the perfect place for our purposes,” said Paez. “Its strategic location is not only close to production zones for our main raw materials, it also facilitates the distribution of our products to the markets we are currently serving,”
Amy Polonchek, interim executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, says the Sigma announcement shows the state's commitment to developing its rural economy. “The Department of Commerce is excited by our continued success in rural Oklahoma,” said Polonchek. “Sigma and its parent company Alfa have significant operations around the world, and this speaks highly of Oklahoma’s competitiveness in the world-wide marketplace. Sigma’s new location in Seminole shows that rural Oklahoma has what it takes to compete in today’s global economy.”
Today’s announcement was welcome news in Seminole. “We could not be more excited about Sigma’s decision to locate in Seminole,” said Chayne Fisher, Mayor of Seminole. “This is a major leap forward for our City. I am so proud to be a part of what is going on in Seminole right now. We are fortunate to have leadership that has allowed us to position ourselves to take advantage of opportunities like this. I know this is going to be a great partnership between Sigma and Seminole.
The new U.S. plant will bring important benefits, not only for the consumer of the products, but for Sigma as well. For instance, products with longer shelf life will be offered to customers, logistics will vastly improve, and savings in costs and expenses will be obtained.

5 Star Machine & Manufacturing, LLC manufacturers equipment for the oil and gas industry. The company began operations at the Airpark facility in December and plans to be in full production in the next few months. They have hired six persons to date and plan on hiring several more as soon as additional equipment is in place. According to Mr. Billy Courtney, managing partner for 5 Star, “We are pleased to be in Atoka. Several other communities in the state offered us manufacturing space, but in the final analysis, Atoka and the “Airpark Facility” were the best option for us. ACIDA and the City of Atoka have been very helpful in our start-up phase. We intend to be in full production as quickly as possible due to the demand for our products.”
5 Star has applied for participation in the State of Oklahoma “Small Quality Jobs Incentive Program”. A qualifying company must create five new jobs in the first year of operations with an average wage of $24,850.00. The company must also provide health insurance coverage for its employees. The company then receives a cash rebate of 5% of its gross payroll for seven years from the State of Oklahoma. 5 Star estimated it would have fifty employees and an investment of $500,000.00 at the end of its third year of operations.

Phil Scoggin, Economic Development Director for ACIDA, stated “5 Star is an excellent addition for the City of Atoka. To attract manufacturing jobs to a city is a highly competitive process and we feel fortunate that 5 Star chose Atoka. If 5 Star reaches its goals it will qualify for over $2,000,000.00 in state, federal and local incentives in the next ten years. Its annual payroll could reach over $1,250,000.00. I want to thank the trustees of ACIDA for their commitment to creating new jobs and investment in the community.” 

(Pauls Valley, OK) – The 2^nd Annual Garvin County Job Fair will be held at the Bosa Center in Pauls Valley on Wednesday April 4^th from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Last year, twenty three major employers and over 390 job seekers attended the 1^st Annual Job Fair and it was deemed a huge success. Sponsors of these annual events, the Southern Workforce Board, Workforce Oklahoma, City of Pauls Valley, Pauls Valley Chamber of Commerce, Big Five Community Services, Pauls Valley Industrial Authority, Wal-Mart Retail Store and Distribution Center are hoping for an even bigger turn out this year.

                        Beetle Plastics has announced plans to expand their Ardmore Airpark Manufacturing Facility.  The expansion calls for Beetle to add to their existing building and increase their inventory storage capability.  They expect to increase their employees from 40 to 60 within the year.

                        Beetle Plastics, LLC manufactures fiberglass pipe, tanks and fittings at their Ardmore location.  Beetle is owned by Midwest Towers, Inc. which is headquartered in Chickasha, Oklahoma.  Midwest Towers purchased Beetle in 2003. 

                        According to Larry Brown, President, Midwest Towers, Inc., “The Ardmore Development Authority has assisted Beetle with every aspect of this expansion.  Due to a change in the air quality legislation, the demand for our product has been tremendous.  Without the help of the Ardmore Development Authority, we would have expanded one of our other manufacturing facilities.”  

The Lake Texoma Lodge has closed for new development. The new facilities will include 18-36 holes of championship golf, a club house and practice facility, aquatic center, outdoor recreation center, nature parks, campgrounds, retail shops and an amphitheater, according to the proposal submitted by Texoma Development, LLC.

It is estimated that the new development with cost $360 million dollars, which includes housing, as well as a full-service hotel with a, gym, business center, multiple pools, spa, meeting rooms a restaurants.

All development is expected to be completed by 2013.

            IMTEC Imaging LLC will begin operation at the Ardmore Technology Transfer Center in February 2006.  IMTEC Imaging is a start-up company created to produce cone beam CT (Computer Tomography) Scan equipment for dental offices, veterinary clinics, imaging centers, orthopedic centers, surgeons, and podiatrists.  The company will design high quality, user-friendly, compact and cost-effective CT Scan equipment and will subcontract some of the required manufacturing.  The core of the business will be a price/quality scan machine called ILUMA.

            The Technology Transfer Center is a business incubator facility for technology oriented companies and is supported by the cooperative efforts of The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc., the Southern Oklahoma Technology Center (SOTC) and the Ardmore Development Authority (ADA).  Business incubators are facilities designed to accelerate the development and success of start-up and existing businesses.

            IMTEC Imaging will be the first company to locate in the facility.  The high technology company is a new venture of IMTEC Corporation and HYTEC Engineering Inc., Los Alamos, New Mexico.  Dr. Ronald A. Bulard, Chairman of the Board of IMTEC Corporation, and a Director of IMTEC Imaging, explained the IMCAT Ultra Cone Beam CT Scanner is designed for a cranial scan, which allows the patient to sit comfortably in an open space while the x-ray source rotates around the patient’s head.  “The scan takes approximately a minute to produce a multi-layered image of the patient’s lower facial area,” Bulard said.  “The upright patient positioning makes scanning easy for patients and uses minimal physical space in the dental or medical professional’s office.”

            IMTEC Imaging will initially start with twelve employees and is expected to increase to forty-two employees within three years.  These jobs will be in training, software/technical support, assembly and installation.  The company’s long-range are to:

            Build and place 700 CT Scan units by year three

            Hire and train employees from the local workforce

            Become the global leader in dental CT Scan units

            Expand globally and offer customer support that exceeds the competition

            Build a manufacturing facility

“We are extremely proud of the high caliber of jobs that the company will provide, and the growth for Ardmore these jobs will create,” adds Andre Moore, ADA Chairman.

            The Ardmore Technology Transfer Center was developed as a strategy to recruit and retain technology oriented companies to Ardmore.  The strategy of the incubator is to leverage the resources of the economic development, research and business training organizations in Ardmore to attract technology companies.  The ADA will be responsible for the recruitment of the Center, while SOTC will provide employee training and support resources to the tenants.  The potential for collaborations with the Noble Foundation will also serve as an attraction to potential companies.

            OnLine Packaging has announced that they plan to build a 42,000 square foot bleach manufacturing facility at the Ardmore Airpark.  In addition to manufacturing house hold bleach, the company will also manufacture the plastic bottles the bleach is packaged in.

            OnLine Packaging is a family owned business with its headquarters in Plover, Wisconsin.  The company also has a plant in Indiana.  “We are extremely excited with our decision to locate in Ardmore.  Ardmore’s proximity to the distribution centers and the major metropolitan markets were the critical factors in our decision,” states Roger Teske (OnLine Packaging).

            The new manufacturing facility will be located north of the Carbonyx plant at the Airpark.  Construction will begin in Spring 2006 and construction should be completed by the end of the year.  The company plans to begin production in Spring 2007.  This plant will be a self-contained, highly automated state of the art facility.

            “We have been working with OnLine for over a year to make this project happen. OnLine will initially employ 17 people at the Ardmore facility, adds Brien Thorstenberg (Ardmore Development Authority).

            On July 12, Nanjing Automobile Group Corporation announced that they will locate a manufacturing facility and parts distribution center for the MG TF Coupe at the Ardmore Airpark.  In addition, they will be locating the American and European operations for MG Motors in Oklahoma City and their Research and Development Center in Norman Oklahoma.

            “The exposure Ardmore has received from this story has been incredible,” states Wes Stucky, Ardmore Development Authority.  “Ardmore has received prominent mention in articles and news features from such sources as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The LA Times, CNN, CNBC and ABC News.  In addition, The Daily Oklahoman has run numerous articles over several days that have featured all aspects of our community.”

            According to Kim Custer, Executive Director of G-Force Communications, “The announcement from Nanjing Corporation that they will manufacture MG’s in North America was the nation’s third biggest story on July 12.  The amount of news coverage far exceeded our expectations.”  G-Force Communications was hired by MG Motors Corporation to provide their public relations of the announcement.

            At full capacity, the manufacturing and distribution plant at the Airpark will employ about 325 people.  The global headquarters in Oklahoma City will employ another 150, and an estimated 35 people will be employed at the R&D facility in Norman.  Nanjing’s MG Motors North America/Europe Corp. is expected to break ground on their Ardmore facility in the first quarter of 2007 and expected begin production the third quarter of 2008.

            Wes Stucky a primary architect of the project attributes the majority of the ADA’s success to the local community.  “We have outstanding leadership in our community that repeatedly steps up to the plate and reinvests in our community, Stucky said, “I think Ardmore does this at a rate unparalleled in the country.”

            Duke T. Hale, Chairman and CEO of Nanjing’s MG Motors North America/Europe Corp., said Ardmore will be an excellent location for a distribution center because it has rail access, the city’s Airpark has the ability to handle large aircraft and Houston can be used as a port.  “Ardmore and the Airpark truly is a logistical, distribution dream,” Hale said.

• Southwest Silicon Technology Announces Expansion
  

              Southwest Silicon Technology announces the expansion of their production existing facility located on Interstate Court in Ardmore.  Southwest Silicon plans to add 26,000 sq. ft. to their 14,000 sq. ft. building.  The company reclaims silicon wafers for the computer industry and has been located in Ardmore since 2000. The expansion will allow the Southwest Silicon the ability to increase its production and add a new product line.

              According to David Winchester, Southwest Silicon Engineering Manager, “We will be able to more than double our production in the expanded facility.  We currently reclaim 45,000 8 inch silicon wafers per month and will be able to reclaim 100,000, 8 inch silicon wafers after the production.  We will also be able to offer a new product, a 12 inch silicon wafer.”

              “We are very grateful for the assistance of the Ardmore Development Authority,” adds Winchester.  “They have been instrumental in making the expansion happen.  This expansion will provide the technology that will establish our company as a leader in the silicon industry.”

              “Ardmore is fortunate to have Southwest Silicon as a member of our business community,” says Brien Thorstenberg, (ADA Vice President).  “Southwest Silicon demonstrates that a start-up technology company can succeed here.”  The expansion will double the company’s workforce from 30 to 60 employees.  Groundbreaking is scheduled for December 2006.

The expansion will create 40 jobs when new window and glass lines start in April, Simonton spokeswoman Kathy Ziprik said. The factory currently produces 10 lines of windows and glass.