Increased interest rates, rising inflation and a volatile labor market have worked to rattle the local economy. But the hallmark of a winner is the ability to power through, which is precisely what Tulsa’s Future did in 2022.
Leveraging the City of Tulsa, Tulsa County, our roughly 140 private investors and many regional and tribal partners, Tulsa’s Future: Acceleration engaged with existing businesses to support economic stability. It also attracted many new major employers with high-paying jobs and carved out potential careers for the workforce’s next generation with the help of innovative programs.
The proof is in the results.
2022 featured several company relocations, including ClearSign Technologies’ move from Seattle, as well as company expansions, including an additional $75 million investment from Google.
Also, a Tulsa coalition was named one of 21 grant recipients for the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge. That $38.2 million grant will go toward establishing the Tulsa Regional Advanced Mobility Corridor.
All these achievements – and many more – were made possible through the support of the Tulsa’s Future investors and partners. I encourage you to read the 2022 Tulsa’s Future Annual Report for more on the past year’s growth in our region.
It’s so exciting to look down the road and to know we are accelerating toward an even more prosperous future for all of northeast Oklahoma.
Tulsa’s Future is the Tulsa Regional Chamber-led regional economic development partnership that works with the City of Tulsa, hundreds of private investors, and regional and tribal partners to bring transformational investment to the Tulsa region.
Since its inception in 2005, Tulsa’s Future has generated more than 72,500 jobs and more than $4.25 billion in capital investment. In addition, at least 200 public and private investors have supported Tulsa’s Future during the past 18 years.
By involving the region’s business community, regional partners and tribal partners, we are excited to build upon that success moving forward. The beginning of 2022 saw the launch of a new multi-year economic development strategy, Tulsa’s Future: Acceleration, which aims to accentuate our region’s existing industry strengths and capitalize on emerging trends.
In the first year of Tulsa’s Future: Acceleration, the initiative sped toward economic success. In 2022, Tulsa’s Future and its partners:
- Brought $159.5 million of new capital investment to northeast Oklahoma
- Supported the creation of 2,215 jobs, roughly half of which (1,075) pay an average salary of more than $50,000
- Provided externship opportunities to 29 Black Tulsa-area high school students through Tulsa’s NextGEN Talent
- Hosted 74 site visits for prospective companies and initiated 146 new projects
Business Attraction
With a cost of living 13% below the national average, Tulsa continues to flex its muscles in terms of affordability. It also has the lowest housing regional price parity among the 56 largest metros with a population of more than 1 million.
Those kinds of figures were able to augment the Chamber’s outreach efforts in 2022. It hosted 74 site visits for companies during the year. Many of them liked what they saw, with several companies announcing expansions or a relocation of headquarters.
For example, ClearSign Technologies, an emerging leader in industrial combustion and sensing technologies, announced the relocation and grand opening of the company’s new headquarters to Tulsa. Originally headquartered in Seattle, the company has been growing its presence in Tulsa and plans to hire additional jobs through the Oklahoma 21st Century Quality Jobs Act incentive program from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.
Similarly, Air Transport Components (ATC) announced it will relocate its headquarters from Phoenix and open a maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) facility in Tulsa. ATC provides repair and overhaul services for components and accessories found on both commercial and military air transport aircraft. The 60,000-square-foot facility in Tulsa will offer thermal spray coatings, grinding, non-destructive testing and painting, with future plans to expand capabilities. ATC will invest approximately $5 million in the building, including technology and equipment, and once completed, ATC will employ 50 people.
Other new 2022 arrivals included:
- Global technology company Northern Data AG announced it will locate its North American headquarters at MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor. Northern Data is based in Germany and operates 10 data centers in six countries. The 116-acre campus is a $270 million investment and will employ 150 people upon completion.
- California-based heat exchanger manufacturer Hayden Industrial LLC transitioned into a large industrial building north of Tulsa International Airport.
- Compu-Link Corp, a Michigan-based financial services company, announced it was expanding to Tulsa by locating a branch at Eastgate Metroplex.
Existing Business Retention and Expansion
Through Tulsa’s Future: Acceleration, the Chamber zeroed in on how it could assist existing businesses in the region by providing every resource at its disposal to help retain as many jobs as possible.
It accomplished this through its workforce development and business retention and expansion efforts.
In 2022, the business retention and expansion (BRE) team within the Tulsa Regional Chamber’s economic development division contacted 451 existing companies in the Tulsa region and conducted meetings with 120 companies.
The BRE team also provided individual assistance to 86 companies and worked with 20 others on expansions, including Accurus Aerospace Corporation, Lufthansa Technik Component Services and Quality Aircraft Accessories.
Multiple companies enlarged their operations or added jobs. Milo’s Tea Company, which made Tulsa the site of its first out-of-state expansion in 2020, invested an additional $20 million into its local production facility. Information technology firm Zayo Group added 254 jobs, and aerospace company NORDAM added 250.
At MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor, Google announced plans to invest at least an additional $75 million in Oklahoma this year, expanding operations at its data center in Pryor. That news brought to $4.4 billion the amount the search engine behemoth has spent in Pryor since establishing its first data center there 12 years ago.
The BRE team also supported two key industries in the region through the Aerospace and Manufacturers’ Councils, which provide a forum to share industry best practices and engage industry professionals with networking opportunities. The BRE team also worked with six leaders of Tulsa technology companies to develop a Technology Council that will launch in 2023.
Additional 2022 expansions included:
- CymSTAR, a training and simulation firm in the military defense market, celebrated the grand opening of its new headquarters in Broken Arrow. The 42,000-square-foot facility will support the company’s growing engineering and manufacturing operations. CymSTAR is planning to add more than 80 employees over the next three years and will have an economic impact of more than $8 million.
- Quality Aircraft Accessories, an FAA-approved repair station that supports the general aviation industry, celebrated a $3 million expansion at its Tulsa plant. The expansion added 13,000 square feet of space to its existing facility, doubling the company's footprint. Quality Aircraft Accessories currently employs around 40 people.
Workforce and Talent Strategies
To keep the workforce pumping, it’s imperative to train the talent pool. To do that, we must expose students of all ages to companies that can educate them on career opportunities. In keeping with that goal, the second annual Tulsa’s NextGEN Talent (TNT) externship experience completed its 2022 cohort.
During the course of three weeks, 29 Black juniors and seniors from five school districts (TPS, Union, Jenks, Owasso and Broken Arrow) connected with local employers across a variety of industries for career exploration and professional development. An additional eight students from TNT’s inaugural 2021 cohort returned to mentor this year’s externs. In addition to the 15 businesses that hosted students this year, an additional 25 organizations provided meals, books and speakers for quality professional development. Special grants from Williams and Walmart helped fund this year’s programming.
TNT ensures a bright, diverse group of students are connected to business leaders and career opportunities in Tulsa before they leave for college. The Chamber partnered with Oklahoma Sen. Kevin Matthews and Tulsa Public Schools last year to launch TNT to grow the region’s diverse talent pipeline by connecting Black high school students with career exploration and C-level access before college. Studies show that connectivity such as this increases the likelihood that students will return to Tulsa in future years, enabling the region to retain our talent.
The Tulsa Regional Chamber’s Aerospace Council, formed in 2020, launched an industry workforce initiative to create a long-term pipeline to grow the labor pool in the region for aerospace companies. As an example of this initiative, the Aerospace Council helped champion the aerospace program at East Central High School.
East Central’s program started in the fall of 2022 as a partnership between Tulsa Public Schools and the nonprofit Choose Aerospace. The four-course elective program covers the general knowledge and skills required for Federal Aviation Administration mechanic certification, and students are required to take one elective CareerTech class each year of high school to complete it.
Focusing on the Future
The year that was 2022 featured ample examples of what can be accomplished through coordinated effort across our region. But why stop there?
By collaborating with our many regional and tribal partners, our ceiling in terms of making our regional business environment better is limitless. We want to capitalize on what makes us strong and seize other opportunities by recognizing cutting-edge trends in economic development.
We can do that only with the help of our investors and partners. We thank you, and we are grateful for your continued support.
Investors
- AAA Oklahoma
- American Residential Group
- Arvest Bank
- Bama Companies, Inc.
- Big Elk Energy Systems
- Bill Knight Automotive Group
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma
- Blue Sky Bank
- BNSF Railway Company
- Case & Associates Properties, Inc.
- CBIZ Stinnett
- CF Industries
- Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies
- Commerce Bank
- CommunityCare
- ConsumerAffairs
- Cox Communications
- Cyntergy
- Dewberry
- Dolese
- Don Thornton Automotive Group
- Eller & Detrich, P.C.
- Ernst & Young, LLP
- Flintco, LLC
- FORVIS, LLP
- Frederic Dorwart, Lawyers
- GableGotwals
- Gateway First Bank
- GH2 Architects, LLC
- Google, Inc.
- Grand River Dam Authority
- Greater Tulsa Association of REALTORS®
- Greenheck Group
- Griffin Media
- Hall Estill
- Hilti
- HoganTaylor, LLP
- HUB International Mid-America
- Ingredion, Inc.
- JE Dunn Construction
- Jim Norton Toyota
- Joshi Technologies International, Inc.
- JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
- LUXA Enterprises, LLC
- Mabrey Bank
- Manhattan Construction Group
- McElroy Manufacturing, Inc.
- McGraw Realtors
- Nabholz
- Northeastern State University
- Oklahoma Blood Institute
- Oklahoma Central Credit Union
- Oklahoma State University
- Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences
- Oklahoma State University-Tulsa
- Omni Air International
- OU-Tulsa
- Oral Roberts University
- Parkside Psychiatric Hospital & Clinic
- Propeller Communications
- Regent Bank
- Rogers State University
- Roxtec
- Sanguine Gas Exploration, LLC
- Schnake Turnbo Frank
- Security Bank
- Senior Star
- Small Business Capital Corporation
- Sofidel
- Summit Financial Group, Inc.
- TEDC Creative Capital
- The Anne & Henry Zarrow Foundation
- The Persimmon Group
- The Robson Companies, Inc.
- The University of Tulsa
- TTCU Federal Credit Union
- Tulsa Bone & Joint Associates
- Tulsa Community College
- Tulsa Tech
- Tulsa Zoo Management, Inc.
- UMB Bank
- University of Oklahoma Foundation
- Vast Bank
- Wallace Design Collective
- Walmart, Inc.
- Webco Industries, Inc.
- Wellness Labs, LLC
- Whiptail Midstream, LLC
Regional Partners
- Bixby Metro Chamber of Commerce
- Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce & Economic Development Corporation
- Cherokee Nation
- Cherokee Nation Businesses
- City of Bixby
- City of Broken Arrow
- City of Catoosa
- City of Claremore
- City of Collinsville
- City of Glenpool
- City of Jenks
- City of Sand Springs
- City of Sapulpa
- City of Skiatook
- City of Tulsa
- Claremore Industrial & Economic Development Authority
- INCOG
- Jenks Chamber of Commerce
- MidAmerica Industrial Park
- Muscogee (Creek) Nation
- Muskogee City-County Port Authority
- Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology
- Okmulgee Area Development Corporation
- Osage Casinos
- Osage Nation
- Owasso Chamber of Commerce
- Public Service Company of Oklahoma
- Rogers County
- Rogers County Development
- Sand Springs Chamber of Commerce
- Tulsa County
- Tulsa Ports