Kevin Stitt has been to Lawton before. Whether it’s been in his official capacity as governor of Oklahoma or as an athlete growing up in Norman, he has made the trip down I-44 many times.
So, it wasn’t any surprise that Stitt recently found himself back in Lawton last Friday on a day-long tour.
“I just think it’s so important to get out to other parts of the state. I brought my cabinet to Lawton, [because] it’s just such an important part of our state,” Stitt said.
“And, so, that’s why I love coming down here, making sure that the state is being actively engaged. We talked about some of the infrastructure needs that they have, and I wanted to make sure I was connecting my economic developments with what’s happening in Lawton and make sure we have that great connection.”
Stitt wanted a firsthand account of what was going on economically in Southwest Oklahoma. He was able to visit a variety of different establishments to get an idea of how Lawton was adapting to the ups and downs of the economy.
“We got briefed on what’s happening at Fort Sill and the different hospitals, different economic developments, and the opportunities here,” Stitt said. “And so, just want to make sure that the state is being actively engaged in what’s happening in Lawton and how we can bring economic development to this community.”
Yet, Stitt also had another reason for his trip to Southwest Oklahoma. He wanted to send a message as the state continues to climb back up from an economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“I love coming down to just promote economic development as a business owner, myself,” Stitt said. “When we get our economy going and we get more business going and we’re open for business as a state, it helps everyone.
“It helps wages increase and that feeds into education, healthcare, roads and bridges, everything. So, I want to be the economic development and the business governor. And, so, I love visiting different companies.”
The other half of Stitt’s message was making sure that companies in Oklahoma could depend on a stable workforce now and in the future.
“I was making sure that we were matching what they’re doing to CareerTech, also Cameron University,” Stitt said. “How are they supplying the workforce? How are our high schools providing and getting hooked up with the industries to let these young people know that there’s hope, there’s future, there is a great career for them? And, so, just making sure we’re coordinating all those is also an effort of mine.”
One of the places Stitt chose to send out his message was from the Republic Paperboard Company in Lawton. Joined by his staff and Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell, they took an hour-long tour of the business after taking part in a demonstration from the Republic management.
“We’re here at the Republic Paper factory and just got an extensive tour. Just so fantastic,” Stitt said. “They supply 37 percent of the paper that goes on sheetrock, basically. So, it’s all over the country and just proud to have it right here in Lawton.”
To have Stitt and his staff on his property was also a chance for Republic President Ray Howard to boast about the work his 20-year old company has been able to.
“I wanted him to see that we are high manufacturing working closely with the state and city of Lawton, and what we produce will ultimately be not produced anywhere else in the world,” Howard said.
“We produce about 34 percent of the gypsum liner board in North America. Most people don’t realize that. It (the governor’s visit) allows (Stitt) to see what we do. It really allows him to see what the State of Oklahoma has in it. And then also we have a couple of issues that we needed to discuss with him, and we were able to do that upfront with him.”
While Howard showed the governor around the facility, the last few months have not been easy on Republic. Like many businesses in the state, the coronavirus pandemic hit the company hard.
“It’s been difficult because we were down putting in this major project when 200 contractors walked off-site because of COVID,” Howard said. “We didn’t have any COVID cases, but we were able to manage through that with the folks that I have here in the plant. It took two weeks longer than normal.”
Even after taking that huge loss of manpower, Howard said Republic was still able to fulfill their orders.
“From a business standpoint, we never interrupted any of our customers,” Howard said. “We have very good business right now. We actually are, in some cases, selling record amounts of paper.”
For that to happen, Howard said he had to spend $100 million on a new process. But the key was hiring the right people beforehand.
It was those employment practices that interested Stitt as well. The Governor is not only looking at jobs, but, he said, he also wants to make sure there are places for young men and women entering the workforce.
“The career techs are training a lot of employees here. Cameron University is doing a really good job. They told me that they trained, I think, a hundred percent of the workers at Goodyear in a certain department,” Stitt said.
“So, I love hearing those kinds of stories. Young people out of high school, there’s fantastic careers right here in Lawton. I want to encourage them to get involved in their career techs and get an associate degree or find out a skill that they want to do, or go on to Cameron or go on to the University of Oklahoma or one of our great universities. And there are great careers for them.”