Major Oklahoma Advanced Manufacturing Employers

Final Four basketball trophies. Airliner wings. Airliner thrust reversers. Heating and cooling units for Wal-Mart rooftops. Equipment used for well completion a record 1.53 miles below the Gulf of Mexico surface. These are a few of the products being turned out by Oklahoma's advanced manufacturing employers. 

 American Airlines, Tulsa

The world's largest aircraft maintenance facility goes through a lot of spare parts - and it manufactures or remanufactures many of them on the spot. More than 1,000 American employees cut parts with computer-controlled machines, build up surfaces with high-tech metal spray facilities, join pieces with state-of-the-art electron beam welding systems, and use other advanced technologies needed to restore hundreds of aircraft and jet engines to like-new condition every year. 

Johnson Controls, Norman

If you've eaten at McDonald's in the summer, you've probably enjoyed cool air from an air conditioner made at the Johnson Controls plant in Norman. Workers program computers to control machining, die making, tool making and stamping equipment. Their rooftop units have 25 to 100 tons of cooling capacity and sit on the roofs of restaurants, stores, schools and other buildings. 

MTM Midwest Trophy, Del City

Orange Bowl and 17 other bowl winners take home trophies made by MTM. The company turns wood, metal, stone, Plexiglas and other materials into trophies and awards for NCAA sports, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, little leagues, corporate recognition, military, and other awards. It employs artists, sculptors, designers, skilled jewelry crafters, CNC machinists and others to turn out both one-of-a-kind and mass produced pieces. 

The NORDAM Group, Tulsa

Acrylics for airplane windows, bonded composites for flight control surfaces and engine nacelles, and complete interiors for business aircraft come out of NORDAM's Tulsa facilities. Employees work with thermal imaging, five-axis and three-axis CNC machining, CNC plastics routing, ultrasonic scanning, waterjet cutting, a 100-ton hydraulic press, and a host of other cutting-edge equipment. 

Spirit AeroSystems, Tulsa

If you've flown on an airline, you may have been carried aloft by wing components built at Spirit AeroSystems or its predecessors. Besides its composite and metal wings and control surfaces, Spirit's Tulsa division produces aircraft fuselages and other structures. Advanced capabilities and equipment include 100-foot gantries to supply complex machined details, integrated processes from fabrication through chemical and paint, automated and video-aided assembly technology, capability to predict distortion in composites, and expertise in developing innovative processes. 

Whirlpool, Tulsa

Was your dinner cooked on a Whirlpool freestanding range? If so, chances are it was made right here in Oklahoma. Whirlpool, the leading manufacturer of major home appliances, makes Whirlpool, Kenmore and other ranges in its Tulsa Division. Robotic technology and self-contained automated line operations press coils of steel into appliance parts. Continuous flow assembly lines get the product out the door and to the consumer. 

Other Manufacturers

Oklahoma has more than 4,500 manufacturing employers. You can find them listed by product category, with contact information, employment, and product information, at Shop Oklahoma.