Chamber's Economic Report Reveals 17 Stillwater Firms Secure Major State Funding
Economic development initiatives yield $3.5 million in total project investments, signaling strong business expansion
Stillwater Economic Development Authority
The Stillwater Chamber of Commerce reports significant economic development achievements in the second quarter of 2025, with 17 local companies receiving $853,900 in state innovation grants and the organization hosting two major site selection visits that signal growing business interest in the community.
Kari Moore, economic development director for the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce, presented the quarterly report to the Stillwater Economic Development Authority on Aug. 18, highlighting the success of the Oklahoma Innovation Expansion Program partnership with Meridian Technology Center and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.
"This year we had 17 businesses awarded in Stillwater for a total of $853,900 and a total project cost of almost $3.5 million invested in our community," Moore said during the presentation.
The innovation grants created 57 new jobs with total new wages of almost $3 million, representing an average wage of $50,319 for the new positions. The program reimburses companies for employee income tax when they invest in expansion projects, equipment or other qualifying business improvements.
Councilor Tim Hardin asked about the source of the innovation grant funding during the meeting.
"Every employer pays an employee payroll tax. Once those companies hit a certain they have an annual payroll of $625,000, they qualify," Moore explained. "If they want to do a project, they want to invest in expansion, they want to invest in equipment, they want to do something like that, they can apply to the OIEP."
The Chamber partnered with Meridian Technology Center to assist local businesses with the competitive application process, which operates on a first-come, first-served basis during a two-week submission window each year.
Of the 19 companies that submitted applications with Chamber assistance, 17 received awards while one turned down the state program for another incentive and one was denied for not meeting payroll requirements. An additional business received funding independently, bringing Stillwater's total awards to $938,900.
| Business Name | Award Amount |
|---|---|
| Accurate Environmental LLC | $90,000 |
| Accurate Heat Air & Plumbing LLC | $37,000 |
| Advantage Plumbing Heating and Cooling, LLC | $40,000 |
| CStar Management LLC | $75,000 |
| Eskimo Joe's Promotional Products Group | $85,000 |
| Firebrand Construction LLC | $25,000 |
| Onsite Heat and Air | $25,000 |
| Platinum Arch Manufacturing and Construction | $90,500 |
| R.D. Simpson Construction, Inc. | $30,000 |
| Renaissance Schools, Inc. | $32,000 |
| Renkids, LLC | $26,000 |
| RPX Technologies, Inc. | $50,000 |
| Stillwater Building Center, Inc. | $80,000 |
| Stillwater Steel & Supply, LLC | $28,900 |
| The Railroad Yard, Inc. | $117,500 |
| The Shutter Mill, Inc. | $40,000 |
| Top Hand Field Service | $37,000 |
| XploSafe, LLC | $30,000 |
| Total | $938,900 |
Chamber highlights downtown ammenities with pub crawl
The Chamber also hosted two significant site selection visits during the quarter, exceeding expectations for business recruitment activity.
"We had two site visits this last quarter which is huge. We had hoped to get one," Moore said. "We're getting a lot of great attention and people are enjoying being here."
One of the visits involved hosting Select Oklahoma, the state's economic development entity, for what Moore described as a "mock site visit" that allowed the community to showcase its assets without risking an actual project opportunity.
The Chamber partnered with Colliers International, a site selection group, to conduct the mock visit through Select Oklahoma. Moore explained the process allowed Stillwater to partner with another community in the region, Ponca City, to host the site selectors for feedback on the community's strengths and areas for improvement.
"This allowed us to host them for a site visit without risking losing a project opportunity," Moore said. "They provided us feedback. They told us what was really, really great, what they see as strengths for Stillwater, what their experience was like, and then also where they see we could improve."
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The chamber organized a "public private partnership pub crawl" through downtown Stillwater instead of a traditional dinner, showcasing community growth and development. Site selectors responded positively to the approach, with some following the chamber on social media to track ongoing developments.
"The site selectors ate it up. They loved it." Moore said.
One key takeaway from the site selection feedback highlighted the importance of Stillwater Regional Airport for business recruitment and operations.
"Some of the feedback we got was really helpful, and it was a lot of how beneficial the Stillwater Regional Airport is for them as industry professionals as far as talent recruitment or prospects, strategic partnerships," Moore said. "They're able to fly people in directly to Stillwater and have a great experience."
The Chamber has completed a strategic plan for economic development that targets four key industries based on a North American Industrial Classification System code analysis. The target sectors include agricultural technology and bioscience, advanced air mobility and unmanned aerial systems, manufacturing in varied sectors, and information technology and telecommunications.
"What we're going to do with that now is utilize those NAICS codes to then recruit companies that make sense," Moore said. "These target industries, if they fall in those NAICS codes then they are a fit for our community."
The Chamber conducted business retention and expansion visits with three top employers and eight small businesses during the quarter to support local economic growth. The organization plans to develop a community data tracking system and publish an online economic dashboard with workforce data.
Moore announced that the Chamber's recruitment video will launch at the mayoral state of the city event Sept. 12, and the organization completed its Small Business University program in June with 19 participants.
Mayor Will Joyce praised the Chamber's work during the meeting, noting the significant economic activity represented by the innovation grants and site visits.
"Just seeing kind of where we are, and honestly, if we look at the data center, the Kingspan facility, the USA Rare Earth facility," Joyce said. "Just in that industrial expansion in and of itself is decades in some communities."
The Chamber continues to work on additional site visits and business recruitment opportunities that will be reported in future quarterly updates to the Stillwater Economic Development Authority.
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