Cherokee Nation Industries hires more than 80 new workers since start of the year

STILWELL, Okla. - Cherokee Nation Industries has created more than 80 new jobs to support its booming aerospace and defense manufacturing division, and even more jobs could be on the horizon.

“We are excited to create this many jobs, because creating jobs to northeast Oklahoma is a sign of success,” said Bryan Collins, acting chief executive officer of CNI. “We’ve focused our attention on our core business, which is in the ever-growing aerospace and defense industry. We have also been working to install new equipment, training programs and fine-tuning our niche in the market.”

In January, CNI employed more than 260 workers at its facilities in Stilwell and Tahlequah. By the end of April there were nearly 350 workers at those facilities. Those more than 80 new jobs will allow CNI to keep up with the increasing demands of current clients, and expected demand from new clients. In addition to the job spike over the past four months, CNI has also reported an employment increase of more than 20 percent for March alone.

“It’s an exciting time to work for CNI,” said John Berry, a CNI production associate from Stilwell who was in the new hiring wave. “There is plenty of work to do and the people are great to work with.”

The majority of the new jobs are in the production area, but there were also jobs created in production management, inventory control and quality assurance. The new hires will complete a four to six week training program, then begin working on CNI’s many multi-million dollar contracts that support the U.S. Department of Defense.

“More than ninety percent of our revenue in manufacturing is from contracts that support the U.S. Department of Defense’s programs,” said Collins. “These products are used on helicopters, in missile rocket launcher systems and many other defense weapons, so our eCNI has many employees that have been around to see the company grow from a small manufacturing facility to a large provider of wire harnessing manufacturing.

CNI has many employees that have been around to see the company grow from a small manufacturing facility to a large provider of wire harnessing manufacturing.

“This company has grown and grown,” said Stilwell resident Mary Vann, production associate for CNI. “There is plenty of work to do, and customers are increasing their demands. That’s great for us, because it means we may need to add another 20 to 25 jobs by June.”

Cherokee Nation Industries is a wholly-owned tribal corporation that specializes in manufacturing, distribution, personnel services and construction management. Visit CNI on the web at www.cnicnd.com