PRYOR CREEK — MidAmerica Industrial Park is looking for more than 500 potential employees.

On Tuesday, the MidAmerica Job Fair 2008 will open at 11 a.m. and continue through 8 p.m. at MAIP’s Expo Center located on Highway 69 between Pryor and Chouteau.

The event is being coordinated by the Pryor Workforce Oklahoma Center and MidAmerica Industrial Park. Special event sponsors include Digi Surveillance Systems, GRDA, ONG, Enogex and PSO.

Although many other parts of the country seem to be slowing down, many area firms are heading in the opposite direction, Don Berger, marketing director for the industrial park said.

“Quite a few of our area employers are hiring and that’s why we are opening the doors to our second annual Job Fair,” Berger said.

“The fact is that we have quite a few companies that are growing and have an immediate need for additional employees. These are good paying jobs with competitive benefits at great companies,” Berger said.

According to Marsha Cunningham, Oklahoma Employment Security Commission manager of the Pryor Workforce Center, over 20 companies have signed up to participate in the event.

“And, we may have a few more ‘last-minute’ employers as we get a little closer to April 29,” said Cunningham. Across Oklahoma for the most part, manufacturing is in a slowdown, but in Mayes County, manufacturing jobs make up 38 percent of our workforce and continue to grow.

Cunningham notes that the current roster of companies that will be participating in the event include: American Castings, Berry Plastics, Cherokee Nation, Digi Surveillance Systems, Express Employment Professionals, Express Metal Fabricators, Georgia-Pacific Gypsum, Gatorade, Google, HEMsaw, Interplastic, Kelly Services, Labinal, Mid-South Maintenance, Northeast Technology Centers, Orchids Paper Products, OSU-Okmulgee MidAmerica, PowerSoak, RAE Corporation, Rogers State University and SYGMA.

“We will have a good mix of industries and jobs available for prospective employees to meet all under one roof – it just doesn’t get more convenient than that,” Cunningham said.

The jobs that are waiting to be filled include a spectrum of positions that range from the front office to the shop floor. The openings include: Assembler, Clerical/Office, Computer (Hardware, Network & Programming) Engineering, Forklift Driver, Grinders, Installation Manager, Machine Operator, Machinist, Production Control, Production Worker, Truck Driver, Technician (Engineering, Installation, Maintenance, Quality Control & Sales), Utility, Warehousing Occupations, Welder/Fitter and many more.

“We had nearly 2,000 prospective employees attend our first job fair last year. We could have even more this year,” Cunningham said.

At the MidAmerica Job Fair, prospective employees will be asked to complete a one-page information sheet for registration. Participants will indicate which companies they are interested in employment with and that company will receive their information.