Wewoka, OK, is celebrating the expansion of Round House Manufacturing, LLC creating new jobs in the community and it all happened because of partnerships.
When Round House Manufacturing, LLC needed to expand its Shawnee operation, the business incubator in Wewoka, the communitys adequate workforce and working partnerships were key to locating the expansion in this rural community, population 3,562.
Round House Manufacturing, LLC produces made-in-America overalls for the painter, carpenter, engineer and other workers in need of high quality workwear. The product is pre-cut at the Shawnee location and sewn at the Wewoka plant. Currently, the Wewoka plant employs 16 with 30 employees projected during the first 12 months of operation and 50 by the end of the third year.
Everyone got involved in this project, said Jim Antosh, president of Round House Manufacturing, LLC. It was incredible to see how people and organizations combined their resources to make this possible.
Antosh was referring to a very impressive list of partnerships which included the City of Wewoka, the Wewoka Industrial Authority, Seminole State College, Gordon Cooper Technology Center, Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance, Oklahoma Department of Commerce, local banks, Wewoka Chamber of Commerce, REI and the local citizenry.
These partnerships helped us in every aspect of facility renovation and a local car dealer even provided a van to transport employees to our Shawnee location for training purposes, Antosh said. Other services included incentive analyses, business and industry training, coordination of an open house and REIs assistance through its business incubator program.
Round House overalls and workwear is distributed to all 50 states and the business has been featured on John Ratzenbergers Made in America Travel show. Celebrities sporting Round House overalls include Jessica Simpson, Donald Trump and Larry Hagmen. The clothing manufacturer offers seven different lines of overalls including some for children. Product lines and a virtual factory tour may be seen on the companys website at www.round-house.com.
As an economic development organization, REI recognizes the importance of partnerships and the Wewoka project is just a super example of this, said Tom Seth Smith, REI President & CEO. We are extremely pleased to have Round House Manufacturing as a participant in our incubator program designed to assist business expansions like this one.