JACKSONVILLE, Ark. (KATV) — Hundreds of jobs are expected to come to Jacksonville as OKSI, a California-based advanced defense technology company, expands its manufacturing into the city with an investment of more than $5 million.
Mayor Jeff Elmore said the project has been “a work in progress for a good while” after the company decided to expand outside California and launched a nationwide search that included Jacksonville. Elmore said the city and Economic Development Director Robert Birch held extensive discussions with the company before it chose Jacksonville.
Birch said one of the biggest factors was Jacksonville’s proximity to the air base, noting OKSI is a defense company with an Air Force contract. He said the site the company selected also matched what it needed because the facility will not be large.
Birch said the company is manufacturing cones that will go on the end of seeker missiles, describing them as moving “from GPS tracking to AI tracking.” He said when company representatives visited Jacksonville and reviewed multiple sites, they also noticed new housing construction and the variety of housing available near the air base. Burch said the city also worked with the state to help finalize the project.
The company is expected to hire for manufacturing jobs, office personnel and engineering roles, including mechanical and electrical engineers. Birch said the company plans to have a chief operating officer move to Jacksonville eventually and that discussions are underway on how to advertise the openings.
Elmore said the company ultimately plans to offer 200 jobs, phased in over three years. He said the jobs are expected to be good-paying positions that draw new residents, which he said can help spur development and support small businesses as more people move into the area. Elmore also said other employers in Jacksonville have major hiring pushes underway.
City leaders said they are targeting August 10 for a groundbreaking, with some remaining property details still to be worked out. Birch said the company expects to start small and is aiming for early 2027 to be fully up and operational. He said OKSI representatives were in Jacksonville last week working on IT and building systems.