Existing Business

The placement of WPX Energy’s new headquarters, under construction at 222 N. Detroit Ave., pleases company CEO Rick Muncrief. Looking south toward the city skyline, he said he can view the company’s legacy at BOK Tower, where WPX’s forerunner, Williams Cos., took root. To the north he sees opportunity, to the west entrepreneurship and to the east John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park, a testament, he said, to faith, hope and perseverance.

After more than 50 years of maybes, somedays and possibilities, the west leg of the Gilcrease Expressway took a giant step toward reality at a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday morning. At the corner of 56th West Avenue and 21st Street, Gov. Kevin Stitt, Mayor G.T. Bynum and County Commissioner Karen Keith gathered with other local and state officials to commemorate the final leg of the expressway first envisioned in 1961. Bynum thanked former Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation Gary Ridley for his work on getting the project started.

American Airlines is expanding the work conducted at the world's largest commercial aviation base maintenance facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Tech Ops – Tulsa), resulting in the need to hire more than 400 new team members.

Over the next few months, additional maintenance work will be sent to Tech Ops — Tulsa, including scheduled maintenance work on the Boeing 787 eet. This work will require the skills of more than 400 new Tech Ops team members in various areas to assist with the additional work coming to the base.

From Tulsa World

An aerospace group is relocating 85 employees from its airport venue to the historic Philcade Building downtown, company representatives said.

WPX Energy announced plans to build a new corporate headquarters in downtown Tulsa. The 11-story, 260,000-square-foot building will be located in the historic Greenwood District and built to provide space for the company's future growth.

Google announced Thursday a $600 million expansion of its data center at the MidAmerica Industrial Park, pushing to $3 billion its total investment in Mayes County.

The project, which increases its staff to more than 500 in Pryor, is part of the internet services company's $13 billion investment to expand data centers across the United States.

Also Thursday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a $6 million grant to the National 4-H Council to support computer science education in its Oklahoma and national chapters.

Local, area and state leaders celebrated the dedication of an MST Manufacturing building at a ceremony Friday.

The new business adds 100 quality jobs and a capital investment of at least $5 million.

MST Manufacturing is owned by 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 aerospace industry leaders such as Boeing, NORDAM and Spirit AeroSystems. The firm later launched M&M Manufacturing, which grew to more than 70 professionals.

Kimberly-Clark is making at least a $120 million investment that will add more than 50 full-time jobs to its facility in Jenks.

The multi-phased project, which will expand the Jenks mill by 270,000 square feet and install new assets for manufacturing Kleenex folded tissue products and Scott bath tissue, is expected to be completed in 2020.