Economic Development

When Nathaniel Pryor set up his trading post on the Grand River, he was moving into uncharted territory with little to guide him except his own initiative and love for commerce. Today, as the global market continues to evolve at ever faster speeds, Pryor Creek still stands at the forefront in exploring new territories, as home to a dynamic global manufacturing base at MidAmerica Industrial Park, one of the nation’s largest and most successful industrial parks. Pryor Creek’s broad-based economy also includes a robust agricultural sector, while our pro-business community has worked closely with local educational providers to create one of the nation’s most effective talent pipelines, a workforce development program fully aligned with global industry needs.

 

MidAmerica industrial assets: Google has only 8 data centers spread across the globe; two of them are located in MidAmerica. It’s more than size that has set MidAmerica apart and made it the strategic choice for Global 500 leaders that also include DuPont, Chevron and SYGMA, the wholly-owned distribution subsidiary of the Fortune 500 food supplier SYSCO. As one of the few industrial parks owned and operated by a self-sustaining public trust, MidAmerica is able to offer compelling advantages in support, financing and responsive governance, not to mention utility costs 20% to 70% lower than other locations.

 

Thriving agricultural base: The yields are impressive in a county that’s a leader in the dairy industry, while also producing healthy profits in horse farming, cash crops, and cattle.

 

A location at “America’s Crossroads”: Pryor’s location puts businesses in advantageous proximity to “America’s Crossroads” where I-35, I-40, and I-44 intersect, which also provides easy access to the “Wal-Mart Expressway” and the NAFTA Transportation Corridor.

 

21^st century training pathways: The opening of the MidAmerica Career Center in 2016 marked the final phase in the creation of Pryor Creek’s revolutionary talent pipeline. Leveraging the area’s multiple higher educational and technical assets (Northeast Technical Center, Oklahoma State Institute for Technology and Rogers State University), the Career Center creates individualized pathways for area high school students in a program that promises to produce agile and fully aligned workforce training that answers the demands of 21^st century manufacturing.