It's the latter that businesses are interested in.

WorldCom Inc., which provides local, long-distance and international phone service and Internet services, is adding about 100 employees per month to its payroll at its 600,000 square foot Tulsa site. The goal is to have 6,000 employees in Oklahoma within 18 months, and the company is finding the labor it needs in Tulsa.

"Tulsa has some of the best telecommunications expertise in the country," said John Barnett Jr., WorldCom's president of wholesale services. "That's due in part to the commitment this area made several years ago to target this industry.

High-tech firms are also finding a home in Stillwater, where a new technology park will open its doors for business this fall. The park represents a partnership between the city of Stillwater, Oklahoma State University, the Stillwater Technology Park and the Meridian Technology Center, a vo-tech school that serves as an incubator for business ideas.

With a highly-educated work force, a foreign trade zone and an enterprise zone that encompasses the entire city, 2,500 new jobs have been added in Stillwater in the last four years.

Among the movers and shakers in this north-central Oklahoma community is Armstrong World Industries, a flooring manufacturer that's adding a $43 million expansion to its manufacturing and distribution site. State incentives and expanded rail service near the site helped the company make the decision to expand.

MerCruiser, a company that makes stern drives for motor boats, recently added 20,000 square feet to its manufacturing plant and increased its payroll to 1,100.

Because of Stillwater's technology expertise, Teubner & Associates, which recently partnered with the French company Esker, is expanding its facility and adding about 60 people to its payroll.

Programs jump start expansions
In creating the "new" Oklahoma, the state initiated a number of incentive programs, including the popular Quality Jobs Program, which pays cash to companies that create new positions.

Camrose Technology, a company that makes soft molded parts for the automotive industry, took advantage of the Quality Jobs Program when it bought and expanded an existing building in Ada.

Other companies in Ada that have used the Quality Jobs Program include: Apex Composites, which makes airplane components; Solo Cup, which recently underwent a $10 million expansion; Prepaid Legal Insurance; and Sykes Enterprises, a computer support service new to Ada that plans to hire 430 local workers. Combined, these five companies will add nearly $20 million in wages over the next three years.

Ada has also benefited from the state's 1997 Taxpayer Relief Act. Under the new plan, businesses that locate on former Indian reservations enjoy accelerated depreciation of their equipment and buildings. Additional tax credits are also available for companies that hire Native Americans or their spouses.

Vacuumschmelze, a subsidiary of Siemens Corp. that manufactures and supplies permanent magnet sub-assemblies for the disk drive industry, was also attracted to the state's Quality Jobs Program.

"Oklahoma has a lot to offer a global company like Siemens," said CEO Ted Davis. "The state has one of the best vocational/technical programs in the nation, and the Quality Jobs Program was an important factor in attracting Vacuumschmelze. In addition to the state incentives, Oklahoma is a great place from which to operate a business because of the quality work force and the low cost of utilities and business facilities."

Bartlesville has tacked on its own local incentives to the state's incentive programs. That helped convince Component Manufacturing Co. to choose it over sites in Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas. The company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rheem Manufacturing Co., makes air conditioners, furnaces and ventilators.

To entice Component Manufacturing, Bartlesville offered a $150,000 incentive package and conducted a job fair for the company, and the Bartlesville Development Corp. bought a 75,000 square foot building, which it now leases to the company. The city's efforts will pay off: By the third quarter of 1999, Component Manufacturing will employ 150 people.

The Kansas City, Mo.,-based Lewer Agency, which processes workers' compensation and health insurance claims, chose Bartlesville this year when it was looking for a new job market that offered easy access to its home base.

Of Bartlesville's 34,000 residents, 1,800 are engineers. This is due to the longtime presence of the Phillips Petroleum Co.

Communities plug the gaps for businesses
Oklahoma communities like Bartlesville are willing to go the extra mile for local investment. That's what Michelin found out about Ardmore.

When the company needed temporary storage space due to a GM strike, the Ardmore Development Authority intervened in a lease negotiation on the company's behalf. It leased a building that was in the process of being sold from both the seller and the buyer for a three-month period, then subleased it to Michelin. The company then sold its surplus tires in time for the building's sale to go through.

Oklahoma City has also been aggressive in recruiting companies. In 1993, Oklahoma City residents passed a 1-cent sales tax increase to raise $300 million for public improvements including a new 20,000-seat sports arena, a minor league baseball stadium, a convention center, a civic center/music hall, and a canal system.

Oklahoma City's Central time zone makes it attractive to customer service operations. In the last three years, America Online, Williams-Sonoma and Hartford Insurance Co. have all located new customer service centers in the city.

Electric rates in Oklahoma are among the lowest in the country, and reliability is good. Companies like Central and Southwest Services/Public Service Company of Oklahoma offer additional services, including site selection assistance and help to increase energy efficiency. The company also recently created a new program called Building Blocks. Through the program, which will begin in January, the company will enable communities to construct buildings for businesses in 120 days.