Tulsa, Edmond firms make Quality Jobs list
BY ROD WALTON World Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
7/03/12 at 3:43 AM
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Streetlight pole manufacturer Ameron International Corp. is eligible for up to $2.5 million in state Quality Jobs Program payroll tax rebates if it fulfills expansion plans in Tulsa over the next decade.
The Oklahoma Department of Commerce announced Monday that Ameron and Edmond-based Adfitech Inc., a mortgage data firm, were accepted into the Quality Jobs Program. The incentive plan pays companies rebates of up to 5 percent of new taxable payroll if they meet the program's criteria.
Ameron will gain back the maximum amount of $2,501,541 if its hires up to 129 people in Tulsa. Adfitech is eligible for more than $10 million.
Pasadena, Calif.-based Ameron announced earlier this year that it will build a new steel-pole factory near 66th Street North and Whirlpool Drive.
The 75,000-square-foot facility, due for completion in about two years, will make poles for highway lighting, traffic control, light rail and smart grid structures.
John Szabo, division president for pole structures at Ameron, declined to comment on the Quality Jobs announcement Monday.
In January, he estimated that new construction would cost about $35 million and generate high-paying engineering and welding jobs as the company works to expand its markets in the eastern U.S. Ameron's current plant employs about 35 people in west Tulsa.
"Our current facility supplies our West Coast customers," he said six months ago. "We want to continue to expand to the rest of the United States."
Ameron, which also produces pipeline, is owned by National Oilwell Varco. The Houston-based oilfield services company paid about $777 million for the California firm.
The other Quality Jobs enrollee, Adfitech, may receive up to $10.39 million if it hires as many as 711 people.
Adfitech is an outsourcing company that provides quality control, due diligence and forensic loan reviews.
Companies eligible for the Quality Jobs rebates must have in-state facilities, maintain a $2.5 million taxable payroll for four consecutive quarters and offer basic health insurance coverage to employees, among other criteria. More than $725 million in performance-based rebates has been paid since the Quality Jobs' inception in 1993.
Rod Walton 918-581-8457
rod.walton@tulsaworld.com
