• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Company Growing at Port: Elite Manufacturing Plans to Build a Larger Facility for Its Shop.

Posted on: Friday, 17 March 2006, 09:00 CST

By Robert Evatt, Tulsa World, Okla.

Mar. 17--Plans to construct a larger building for Elite Manufacturing at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa were approved by the City of Tulsa-Rogers County Port Authority during its meeting Thursday. Additionally, port officials announced that shipping tonnage hit 216,000 tons in February, the highest monthly total since August 2004. "This shows that the effects of Hurricane Katrina are abating," said Steve Kissee, chairman of the port authority. Elite Manufacturing operates two metal fabricating shops -- a 13,500-square-foot facility at the port and another 13,000-square-foot shop at 2150 S. 87th East Ave. The new building will allow Elite to consolidate its operations at the port and reduce costs, a company official said. Elite employs 24 people between its two work sites. Rick Dean, co-owner of Elite with David Franklin, said the new building means the company can add 10 to 15 employees within a year. Dean said Elite decided to expand as business picked up last year. "We need more floor space for our hands at the shop," he said. "Our workload has increased." Construction on the new building should begin soon, with the facility being operational by September. Dean said he did not know the estimated cost. Port officials said last month's 216,000 tons of cargo recorded at the port was shipped in 131 barges, compared with 196,000 tons in 118 barges during January and 170,000 tons in 98 barges in February 2005. Shipping at the port had slowed in the months following Katrina as the Port of New Orleans -- the final U.S. destination for much cargo flowing down the Mississippi River -- was disabled and barge traffic jammed. Traffic improved as more of the port came back online. Kissee said the Port of New Orleans recently reached 100 percent of its pre-Katrina levels. ------------ Robert Evatt 581-8447 robert.evatt@tulsaworld.com

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, Tulsa World, Okla.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: Tulsa World

More News in this Category