AAON announces expansion to Longview facility, creating 200 new jobs

LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) - Longview is about to have more than 200 new employment opportunities. AAON, a manufacturer of commercial HVAC units, has had such a demand for its units that it’s about to add to its existing facility earlier than anticipated.

With seven chrome shovels full of dirt, it became official. AAON is growing, according to AAON President of Core Products Doug Wichman.

“This is a project that we actually kind of envisioned when we built our first phase starting back in 2019. So, it just kind of worked out that we were blessed with orders, and we had the staffing, so we got to actually accelerate our expansion project,” Wichman said.

He says initially it was a five-to-ten-year phase, but it only took four years. The west side of the building will be expanded.

“A little over 200 hundred thousand square feet. It allowed about forty percent of our manufacturing capacity,” Wichman said.

More air conditioner manufacturing means more jobs.

“And you’re looking at approximately about 200, 250 additional head count among our team members,” Wichman said.

Longview District 3 City Councilman Wray Wade said this is a big deal.

“For the community, economic development, employment. You know when I was elected back in 2018, one of the things that I really wanted to stress was development right here in District 3,” Wade said.

And thanks to people that want to keep cool it’s happening. Wichman said AAON prides itself in being a second chance employer.

“We really look for an employee who’s driven and wants to be here to improve himself. And we’ve got a handful of those on our shop floor,” Wichman said.

The cooling trend is apparently heating up for AAON.

According to an AAON press release, the Longview Economic Development Corporation (LEDCO) voted to approve support of the expansion plan in April of this year. Following growth and product demand, AAON is moving forward with a $40 million capital investment to double an earlier expansion completed in 2021, they said.

The company said they plan to increase production capacity of current products, create space for manufacturing new products, and expand coil production capabilities. This brings opportunities for AAON to create approximately 250 new full-time jobs in Longview, according to the release. The new space will reportedly include three additional loading and shipping docks, a new employee entrance and breakroom, and more employee parking.

The expansion is slated to be complete in June of 2024.

For more information about AAON, visit their website.

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