Oklahoma: A Story Through Her People

Opposite, top: Mister Lew is a towing vessel.
Opposite, bottom: International Paper, Valliant, Oklahoma.
Below: US Silica, Mill Creek, Oklahoma.
Manufacturing adds many jobs in the
state. Production of machinery, particularly
oil field machinery, has grown in recent
decades. Construction machinery, machine
parts, and refrigeration and heating equipment
are other types of machinery manufactured
in the state. After oil field machinery,
aircraft and aerospace equipment manufacturing
ranks second. Other manufactured
items include computer and electronic equipment,
fabricated metal products, processed
foods, and rubber and plastic products.
The state is the top manufacturer of tires in
North America.
Foreign investment in Oklahoma has been
an economic shot in the arm over the past
few years. The state is home to more than
140 U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies.
The investment of global companies has
added nearly 37,000 jobs in the past half
dozen years.
In 2011, Oklahoma exported more than
$6.2 billion in products and services. Nearly
one-fourth of manufacturing workers in the
state depended upon exports for their jobs.
More than 2,000 companies exported goods
from Oklahoma. Of those, eighty-five percent
were small and medium-sized companies.
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