'A Really Big Deal': New Jersey Company Offers Stipends For Employees Moving To Oklahoma

The Siemens building which sits empty just off of Bartlesville Road is soon to be home to one New Jersey company.

"I think there's you know labor issues, cost of doing business issues in New Jersey that they wanted to try to get away from," said Chirs Batchelder with the Bartlesville Development Authority.

Lincoln Electric Products is a well-known manufacturing company based in the northeastern part of the country, and is expanding to the Midwest.

"Projects like this don't come along every day so we're excited when we get one," Batchelder said.

Batchelder helped seal the deal of a new home for the family-owned company.

"It really benefits us because we can go right out with here's what we do, here's what we offer, here's what it is," he said.

The city offers a primary industry incentive program to businesses wanting to make the move to Bartlesville.

At the beginning of the year, Bartlesville City Council voted on some of those incentives, including a $15,000 moving stipend per job, and the resident recruitment program for housing.

"If a new employee moves to the community, we give them a $10,000 housing stipend to buy a home and $20,000 to build a home," Batchelder said.

He hopes incentives like these not only help Lincoln Electric Products grow, but the community too.

"That's money that's spent locally, then you're talking about kids that are going to be in schools, tax dollars that are going in to help your city. It's a really big deal," said Batchelder.

He looks forward to seeing what other big moves are in store for Bartlesville and Oklahoma this year, "this migration to the middle of the country right now is real."