Loren Cook Co. opening McAlester manufacturing plant

Apr. 11—The Loren Cook Company is opening a new manufacturing plant in McAlester, with plans to hire from 30-to-40 local employees by the end of the year.

City of McAlester Economic Development Director Adam White said the company plans to open its McAlester plant in the former National Oilwell Varco building. Company headquarters will remain in Springfield, Missouri.

"It's basically an extension plant for them," White said. "They needed to expand operations."

Loren Cook Co. company manufactures a variety of fans, including industrial-sized air-moving products.

"It will be a mix of white-collar and blue-collar jobs," White said of the positions to be filled at the plant. "By the end of the year, we're expecting from 30-to-40 positions."

Average pay will be approximately $40,000 a year, White said.

"I know they will be excited to get down and start hiring people," he said.

Loren Cook Company executives said they are looking forward to opening the new plant.

"We are very excited to get things rolling in McAlester," said Loren Cook Vice President of Operations Jeff Kallenberger.

Loren Cook Company Senior Vice President and Chief of Operations Dennis Blake said he expects the McAlester site to be operational in from four-to-six months.

Blake said a lot depends on when the equipment that's already been ordered arrives at the site and when things such as emission permits are finalized.

He said Loren Cook Co. has already purchased the former National Oilwell building.

"Right now we have contractors in the building," including electricians and plumbers, he said. Landscapers are working on the plant grounds.

How many workers does Blake initially expect to be hired when the McAlester plant opens?

"We're expecting between 15 and 30 to start with," Blake said. "As we grow, we'll go from there."

How will the hiring process work?

"Right now we're planning on having a big event and job fair," Blake said. The time and place has not yet been selected.

He said applicants can do an online application if they want on the company's web site. The company is currently replying it is not hiring at this time, he said.

Blake said the company has been in business for more than 80 years.

It has two plants in Springfield and two in Coffeyville, Kansas.

"We are fans and blades for air-moving equipment," Blake said. He noted that schools and hospitals for example, have systems that move air in and move air out of their buildings.

"That's what we do," he said.

Employees at the McAlester plant will be doing things such as running lasers and shears, painting sheet metal and welding. Once the fan blades are manufactured, motors and drives will be installed.

Finished products will be shipped to customers from McAlester, Blake said.

White said he's glad to see the city come out on top in the competitive field of obtaining new manufacturing jobs.

"This is McAlester's first big industrial win in about a decade," White said.

City Manager David Andren shared in the enthusiasm.

"We're really happy to have them here," Andren said. "We will do everything we can to make it a success."

Andren said White has been working very hard with the Loren Cook Company to bring the manufacturing facility to McAlester.

Several entities worked together to make the project happen, White said. They include the city of McAlester, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

White said the city of McAlester and others have been working on the project with the Loren Cook Company since last October.

"We're really excited they made the decision to come here," he said.

White said Loren Cook Company representatives were impressed with the people they've met in McAlester.

"A 'thank you' to everyone in McAlester who had interaction with them," White said. He said the Kiamichi Technology Center participated in the process.

McAlester Mayor John Browne also expressed his delight at the opening of a Loren Cook Co. facility in McAlester.

"It's great anytime we can add jobs, especially manufacturing jobs, to the economy," Browne said.

He said manufacturing jobs are multipliers. "For every job they pay out, it multiplies in the community," he said.

"We're very proud," Browne said. "Adam White did a great job putting this together.

"We also had partners throughout the state and the community," Browne said. "My thanks to them."

White expects to see more economic expansion. In addition to the initial hires, he said there will be secondary benefits with supporting jobs for every manufacturing job.

"They will need additional support," he said.

"We're hoping to eventually have from 120-to-150 jobs," White said, although he said he did not have an exact timeline.

White said this is the first project he's been able to work on from start-to-finish since he came on board as the city of McAlester's Economic Development Director.

"It's a good indicator that the community is moving in the right direction for economic development," said White.