Flintco to close Springfield office in November

Oklahoma-based general construction contractor Flintco Inc. plans to close its Springfield office, which employs 28, in November, a company vice president said Wednesday.

Vice President of Business Development and Marketing Dana Birkes said the Native American-owned company will close its local office, 2935 W. Chestnut Expressway, after completing two projects under contract - Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Nixa and Cherokee Middle School in Springfield. The Springfield office opened in 1999, she said.

Birkes said the Tulsa, Okla.-based company recently decided that Springfield does not fit into a strategic plan set into motion last year.

"The closure is a result of our company growing significantly," she said. "We really need to focus our resources and attention on secondary markets."

Flintco will shift its attention to offices in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Springdale, Ark.; Sacramento, Calif; Albuquerque, N.M.; Austin, Texas; and Memphis, Tenn., Birkes said. Springfield will be the only Flintco office closed as part of the strategic-planning effort.

"It's been a really good relationship with the Springfield community, and we've been fortunate to have worked on so many landmark projects out there," she said. "We're very, very proud of our work there. But fundamentally, when we looked at where we were going as an organization with some significant growth we've had recently, the Springfield location was not in alignment with that strategic plan."

Birkes could not provide details about what would happen to Flintco's local employees when the Springfield office closes later this year. Jim Blose is vice president and area manager at the Springfield office.

Some of Flintco's recent projects include the $6.8 million, 30,000-square-foot Springfield Crime Laboratory, 425 E. Phelps St., and the two-story, 25,400-square-foot addition to Weaver Elementary School in north Springfield.