A Tulsa manufacturing business is investing at least $5 million and adding about 100 jobs over the next two years.
The Tulsa World reported that MST Manufacturing recently moved into a six-acre complex at 2205 E. L. Anderson Blvd. The company, whose footprint will encompass three buildings totaling about 52,000 square feet, employs CNC (computer numerical control) machining specialists who make aircraft parts for clients such as Spirit AeroSystems, Boeing, Gulfstream, Lockheed Martin and Triumph Aerostructures.
“A hundred jobs is really significant for Claremore,” Keith Ballard, chairman of the Claremore Industrial and Economic Development Authority, said by phone. “We have been very deliberate and very diligent about trying to build opportunities for people in this area.”
To meet the company’s workforce demands, MST Manufacturing has partnered with CIEDA and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and has qualified as a participant in the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program. The average pay at MST will be $50,000, said John Feary, executive director of CIEDA.
“A part of what has been our mission is that we are working very carefully with all of the schools in Roger County about workforce development,” Ballard said. “Workforce development used to just mean you need to go college.
“But it’s not for everyone. And if it’s not for everyone, we need high-quality, good-paying manufacturing jobs. … We need to be doing all we can to provide opportunities for people to stay in this region.”
Moving into facilities formerly occupied by National Oilwell Varco, MST Manufacturing is owned Kenneth Statton, who founded his first machine shop with his father more than a quarter century ago.
The Statton Group grew from a garage-based startup to serving industry leaders such as Boeing, NORDAM and Spirit AeroSystems. The firm later launched M&M Manufacturing, which grew to more than 70 professionals.
After selling M&M to a private equity group in 2016, the company launched MST as a precision machine shop for the automotive industry. Increasing demand in other industries led to the creation of MST Manufacturing.
“As a proud Claremore native, I am no stranger to the community’s thriving manufacturing sector, access to high-quality talent and pro-business atmosphere,” Statton, MST Manufacturing president and CEO, said in a statement. “These factors, in addition to strong support from the city and county leadership, made Claremore the clear choice as home for our new facility.”
MST Manufacturing is hiring a variety of positions, including CNC machinists, CNC machine operators, quality inspectors, deburr and detail technicians, shipping and receiving personnel, reception and experienced program managers. Resumes can be submitted online at mstmfg.com/careers.
“He (Statton) is originally from Claremore,” Feary said. “So we actually called the project ‘Project Boomerang’ when we first started working with him over a year ago because he was coming back home.”