Noble Plant’s Sale Good News For Area

The sale of the former United Design plant in Noble to a manufacturer of heavy equipment is good news for Noble and southern Cleveland County. The empty plant building will soon come alive with the sounds of a heavy equipment manufacturer.

The 178,000-square foot building on highway 77 and Noble was purchased by Ironwolf, a company that designs and manufactures equipment that fits on the front end of front loaders and graders.

United Design operated in the plant for many years. The company, known for its collectible figures, was founded as a home based business in Norman. It grew exponentially into its Noble plant and later sold to an out-of-town company several years ago. Much of the manufacturing that took place there ceased after the sale. The creative staff of United Design will continue to lease space in part of the building.

The purchaser has previously operated as Construction technology Inc. A video presentation shared with this newspaper shows some impressive results from the company’s earth-moving and timber-slashing equipment. It’s far cry from the precision craftsmanship practiced at United Design. No hiring announcements were made.

The Highway 77-Highway 9 corridor is rapidly becoming a manufacturing destination. Albon Engineering plans to build a plant on SH 9, just east of highway 77. The British-owned company will manufacture engine parts. It was recruited by the Norman Economic Development Coalition to locate in the coalition’s business park.