Ponca City Development Authority 102 S. Fifth, Suite 3 Ponca City, OK 74601 580-765-7070

CFS Consulting to Expand in Ponca City CFS AND PCDA ANNOUNCE PONCA CITY EXPANSION      August 10, 2006: The Ponca City Development Authority, (PCDA) and Consulting and Field Services, (CFS) a Ponca City based company, reached an agreement today on an expansion of the company's operation. The agreement between the company and PCDA will help CFS renovate an existing Ponca City building, a key factor in allowing the company to stay in Ponca City rather than expand elsewhere.      The agreement between the economic development organization and the company provides $75,000 towards improvements of a building on North Waverly Avenue. The facility, formerly occupied by Pelton Industries, a veterinarian and others, has been vacant for some time and has a number of repair issues that need to be completed before a company can occupy the premises, according to a building inspection report on the property. Several companies had looked at the building and selected facilities in other communities due to the level of renovation necessary, according to a PCDA staff report to the board.      The agreement provides funding for the company to repair structural problems in the building and replace damaged building materials. In exchange, the company has agreed to employ at least fifteen people at an average wage of $18 per hour for at least five years. According to PCDA Executive Director David Myers, the company expects to employ over that amount since there will be several positions that will likely not pay the required $18 per hour amount but will provide strong, fair wages. "We expect that the employment numbers will hit at least twenty and maybe more, based upon the documented growth of the company." Today's action capped three months of negotiations between the business and PCDA.      "We're very pleased to be able to support the growth of our fast growing business services sector," said PCDA Vice Chair Jim Leach, who presided over today's meeting. "These are strong, high paying jobs that will truly benefit the entire economy of Ponca City." PCDA Trustees unanimously approved the agreement, with Trustee Chuck Van Cleave abstaining due to a potential conflict of interest and Board Chair Lee Evans and Trustee Darrell Stolhand absent.      CFS has doubled its sales in the last two years and provides consulting and inspection services to the petrochemical industry in several states in the Great Plains region. The company employs as many as 60 employees when out of area employees are included in the company's personnel count. They had been operating from small offices in North Ponca City and were considering other locations if a suitable building in Ponca City could not be found, according to Gary Page, Managing Partner of CFS.      Under the agreement, the company has 12 months to complete the improvements to the building. The company is also required to document the employees and wage levels as well as to provide a secondary lien to PCDA until all of the requirements of the agreement have been met. The company is investing an undisclosed amount in purchasing the building and completing additional facility improvements.      PCDA's Myers said that the company is part of a growing industry cluster in Ponca City. He noted that the company becomes the third such company in the engineering and inspection industry cluster to make a significant announcement in Ponca City this year. FTS Inspection and Engineering reached an agreement with PCDA in June and Pacific Technical Services, a Torrance, California based firm, opened a new operation here earlier this year. Said Myers, "Inspection and engineering services to the energy industry make sense here, based upon the heritage of the community and the know how of our people. We're excited CFS is going to stay home and grow." Contact: David Myers, PCDA 580-765-7070 Gary or Donna Page, CFS 580-762-4510 Posted 8/18/06 Chamber of Commerce | Relocating | Education © www.goponca.com - Ponca City Development Authority - Ponca City, Oklahoma