Ozark tank manufacturer to add 30 jobs

Last edited 3 p.m., Feb. 13, 2014


North American Tank LLC has committed to invest $200,000 in capital to expand its Ozark operation, creating at least 30 jobs in the process.

Ozark-based North American Tank, 1411 W. Lloyd St., designs and fabricates liquid transportation truck-mount tanks and tank trailers primarily for the petrochemical industry, said company President Jim Mohan, who founded the business in September 2012 with business partner Jeff Newkirk.

Mohan said the company, which currently employs 37, is looking to hire 30 additional welders to manufacture its products. North American is also expanding its physical presence, retrofitting an adjacent facility at its Ozark headquarters to push square footage to 30,000 from its current 15,000, Mohan said.

"We can't keep up with the plant we've got," Mohan said of market demand, declining to disclose client numbers.

Mohan declined to put a dollar figure on incentives coming in from the Missouri Department of Economic Development and the city of Ozark to support the expansion. A spokeswoman for the DED could not be reached by deadline, but a news release from the state agency said North American Tank is eligible for an economic incentives package if it meets job creation and investment criteria.

According to Springfield Business Development Corp., an arm of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, incentives are coming from the Missouri Works program and the new jobs would pay above Christian County's average wage of roughly $32,000.

The announcement is the latest in a series of expansion news from stainless steel tank manufacturers in the Springfield area, who plan to add roughly 220 jobs combined. In December, Stainless Technology revealed plans to add up to 75,000 square feet at its Partnership Industrial Center plant, a multimillion-dollar move that would create up to 88 jobs. That end-of-year announcement followed similar investment and job plans by Tank Components Industries and Watson Metal Masters Inc., according to Springfield Business Journal archives.[[In-content Ad]]