TAP Announcements
06/10/2009
State Incentives Expanded by legislature! “21st Century Quality Jobs” expands the existing Quality Jobs program to offer incentives for higher paying, knowledge-based jobs. Companies creating the jobs specified would be eligible to receive a quarterly cash rebate of up to 10 percent of new taxable payroll. Also, new legislation allows existing and new businesses in Oklahoma to take advantage of both QJ tax rebates and the Investment tax credits.
Tulsa Named Best Place to Live in the U.S. Relocate America has declared Tulsa the No. 1 place to live in America. April 2009 Tulsa Among America’s Most Livable Cities. Tulsa recently received high marks from a new survey by Forbes that ranks them 5th among America’s most livable cities. April 2009
Companies accepted into Quality Jobs Program. Heath Technology LLC, an energy-related manufacturer, plans to add up to 175 jobs by 2014 at a factory in Claremore. Heath Technology makes a vaporing recovery unit to capture natural gas that is released at well sites. WorleyParsons Group Inc. of Houston, a petrochemical engineering firm, hopes to add up to 360 jobs in Tulsa during the next three years. April 2009
Spirit AeroSystems Completes $17.4 Million Facility Renovation In Tulsa Creating 500 New Jobs. March 2009
Tulsa University Lands National Energy Policy Institute. NEPI established its headquarters at the University of Tulsa under an agreement signed Tuesday with the George Kaiser Family Foundation. “Tulsa and Oklahoma have long provided national energy leadership in oil and gas. It is now time to forge a new energy role in Tulsa at the leading edge of technology and sustainable energy development,” said Kaiser, chairman of the Tulsa firms BOK Financial and Kaiser-Francis Oil. March 2009
Umicore selects Quapaw/Miami area as the site for a new manufacturing facility. The new production capacity for germanium wafers will be completed in spring 2010. Quapaw’s location has the advantage of being close to a sizeable customer base in the U.S. and compliment Umicores’ existing production in Belgium. July, 2008
American Airlines Breaks Ground on New Facility—The city is paring $5.7 million of State opportunity fund money with $4.3 million in local funds to build American’s new 80,000 square-foot hangar. American employs 7,000 people in Tulsa, most of them at its Maintenance & Engineering Center, the largest aircraft maintenance base in the world. July, 2008
City Rates Favorably as a Place to Prosper. Tulsa’s low cost of living is a selling point for many who live in or move to the area. It also was a prime factor that helped Tulsa place 12th out of 69 cities for being favorable places to build personal wealth according to the information released by Salary.com. Salary.com’s 2008 Salary Value Index primarily looks at the relationship between living costs and pay in cities with at least 250,000 residents. It includes salaries, the cost of living and unemployment rates. July, 2008
Okmulgee Celebrates Opening of New 150-acre Brownfield Site—Proposed site development will include water features, shielding tree plantings, green areas, and sites for industrial, commercial, and retail businesses. Highway frontage and available rail services highlight the sites attributes. Oklahoma and Okmulgee have incentive packages designed to entice investment and job creation.
Governor Signs Bill for Aero–Engineers—A new law establishing tax credits for engineers going to work for Oklahoma aerospace companies was recently signed by Governor Brad Henry. The Aerospace Industry Engineer Work Force bill extends tax credits of $5,000 a year for up to 5 years to engineers who are hired after Jan. 1, 2009. Companies hiring the engineers will receive a tax credit equal to 10% of the compensation paid during the first 5 years of employment if the engineer graduated from an Oklahoma college. (5% for non-Oklahoma college). The law also provides tax credit to companies offering tuition reimbursement for new engineer graduates. June, 2008
MSN, puts the Tulsa area at no. 9 on its list of the best residential real estate bargains. June, 2008
Zeledyne completed the purchase of former Visteon/Ford Glass plant and installs new $30 million furnace, keeping the 1.4 million square foot facility open with more than 500 employees. June, 2008
Verizon Business is opening a new customer service and support center in Tulsa to accommodate growing customer demand for its end-user help desk services. The new center facility has capacity for 400 highly trained consultants, who serve as the first point of contact for callers, helping to resolve issues with personal computers and handheld devices such as a
Blackberry. May, 2008
Wagoner constructing Spec Building—Wagoner Industrial Development Authority is presently constructing a 30,000 square foot industrial shell building in the Wagoner, Site Ready State Certified Industrial Park. May, 2008
Tulsa noted as one of nation’s most attractive areas data center locations. In its report, “Banking and Financial Services: A Comparative Cost Analysis for Information Assurance Operations” the Boyd Co., a New Jersey site location firm, found that Tulsa offered the seventh lowest cost for operating a data center among 45 cities compared. April, 2008
DMI Gears Up Wind Tower Plant in Tulsa. The West Fargo, N.D.–based company began production earlier this year from its 500,000 sq. ft. facility in Tulsa. March 2008
TCC to offer free IT training to tech companies. February, 2008
Dish Network call center to hire 200—The latest recruitment effort will increase the satellite TV company’s work force in Tulsa to 650. February, 2008
Questar Corp. is adding as many as 25 jobs at its Tulsa office to support the company’s recent $655 million acquisition of natural gas development properties. Company plans to add land, geoscience and engineering professionals to develop the properties. February, 2008
Alorica customer service management company announces a renewed contract will allow Alorica to grow hiring 200– 300 persons within the new few months. February, 2008
Heater Specialist, Fintube and Norris apply for Quality Jobs state incentives. November, 2007
Sinclair will invest $1 billion in refinery upgrade and expansion. May, 2007
Coca-Cola Enterprises’ announces new customer development center—Center to transform Eastgate mall to mixed-use office/retail. October, 2007
SGS–FTS engineering is projecting its work force, now around 280 at its Bartlesville offices, could grow to 800 or 1,000 in a few years. Bartlesville Development Corporation to construct facility to aid expansion. May, 2007
ABB Totalflow completes $2.6 million expansion in Bartlesville. May, 2007
Google announces a $600 million data center in Pryor! May, 2007
Construction underway for the drink maker’s Gatorade’s $180 million plant. April, 2007
Capital One Auto Finance Inc., Tulsa Power LLC, The Crosby Group Inc. and Select Engineering Inc., Tulsa and Hill Manufacturing in Broken Arrow are planning major expansions and have applied for state quality jobs incentives. June, 2007
EDS to expand Tulsa facility to more than double the size of its Service Management Center at Cherokee Industrial Park, bringing its total size to 440,000 square feet. The expansion of its existing 225,000-square-foot building will focus on data center enhancements, including computer servers. EDS employs 1,500 in the Tulsa area.
Gannett announces plans to open Tulsa customer service center, The Gannett Center of Excellence, and employ up to 500 people. April, 2007