HAMMRC, TRDA's efforts score first business in Tahlequah
By Lee Guthrie – lguthrie@tahlequahdailypress.com
Cross Industries, known as Precision Injection Molding, has moved into the Tahlequah Business and Technology Park.
The first business to come to fruition from a collaborative effort for economic development efforts in medical manufacturing has moved to Tahlequah.
Heartland Advanced Medical Manufacturing Regional Cluster aims to provide employment opportunities to residents, as well as partnering with the local hospital and medical school, to increase medical manufacturing along the U.S. Highway 62 corridor.
David Cross has purchased a building in the Tahlequah Business and Technology Park and now goes under the U.S. name of Precision Injection Molding. The Canadian name for his company is Cross Industries.
Cross said the machines are in the building and he will soon start manufacturing products, some of which he says are medical equipment.
The communities HAMMRC is going to be supporting are all rural, and the traditional economic development efforts need someone leading that charge, thus creating the collaborative.
The only caveat for HAMMRC’s support to businesses is the manufacturing must be done in any town along the U.S. Highway 62 development corridor.
The cities of Farmington, Lincoln, and Stilwell, the Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah Regional Development Authority, Washington Regional Medical Center, and Fayetteville and Tahlequah Chambers of Commerce, are all participating in the effort.
A lot next to the building was purchased by Cross with funding support from HAMMRC. The funding came from dues paid by cities cooperating in the HAMMRC effort, as well as investors. The extra land will allow semi-trucks to enter and exit the facility.
“We are an injection-molding job shop, and we will do contracts of injection molding to make small parts for a variety of different industries,” Cross said. “We make any small technical parts, like for food and beverage, defense and firearms parts, and syringes and catheters for medical applications.”
Depending upon the work opportunities, Cross said that in the next couple of years, the facility could hire up to 26 people – the number he had in his previous facility before running into regulatory issues. He said he anticipates hiring about six people beginning early this summer, depending on opportunities they can find in Oklahoma, surrounding states and anyone who needs their services.
Cross said a lot of product manufacturing has gone to China over the past 20 years.
“I’m getting more into the molding side and reshoring that, and with that start to bring back the tool-and-die and product development work,” Cross said.
Nathan Reed of TRDA (right) welcomes David Cross and his daughter and describes is expected product line, including medical devices.
Executive Director Wayne Mays, HAMMRC, said this is very exciting, because when HAMMRC began three years ago, that was one of the aims of the organization. “Three years ago, when we first started this organization, part of the discussion was reshoring,” Mays said. “It’s exciting for you to be in the position to possibly benefit from reshoring.”
Many of Cross’ customers want to decrease their costs as they grow and consider sending the manufacturing to other countries to take advantage of cheaper pricing, Cross said.
“What a lot of folks don’t account for when they do that is the logistical costs of manufacturing offshore,” Cross said. “So, whether there’s a problem with the mold or quality of the mold, the delays of shipping back and forth – that’s mostly ocean freight – get pretty long, and that needs to be a factor in the actual product price.”
Cross will offer customers services that can take a rudimentary idea, sometimes drawn out on a napkin, to a fully designed and produced product.
“One of the things I was so impressed with was he said he could take something from a napkin sketch and get it to market,” said Nathan Reed, CEO and president of Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce.
Negotiations with Cross began over two years ago, and one of the factors that delayed his move to Tahlequah was his effort in manufacturing syringes.
“Having somebody here like David to help us get these products produced that are [designed] by these entrepreneurs is critical,” Reed said. “Personal protective equipment was a big thing during COVID-19. Cherokee Nation was going to start their own facility because they couldn’t get these products.”
Reed said HAMMRC is looking forward to having the broad range of capabilities that Cross can do.
“He’s got his own product lines that he contracts with, but if you have an idea, this is the guy who can make it happen,” Reed said.