Rigid Industrial Group celebrated its expansion into Noble on Tuesday, moving into the 156,623-square-foot campus once occupied by figurine and collectibles maker United Design. The Norman-based industrial firm has already hired 120 people at the site and plans to add 80 more within the next year, with a goal of roughly 200 additional jobs across Cleveland County over the next three years.
Rigid bought the Noble property in June 2026, according to The Journal Record, taking over a campus once occupied by United Design, which closed in 2004. United Design had employed about 750 people there over three decades, designing, manufacturing and hand-painting figurines, frames and collectibles before shutting down. Rigid's move effectively revives one of Noble's most storied industrial addresses for a very different kind of work.
From Five Employees to a Growing Regional Player
Rigid Industrial Group traces back to 2018, when it launched as Rigid Automation with just five employees. The company has since created about 400 jobs, per the same Journal Record account, and now operates as a vertically integrated outfit spanning metal fabrication, automation, electrical integration and field services. Its website, rigid-ig.com, states that the company is headquartered in Norman and provides turnkey automation, custom fabrication and welding, industrial electrical, and field maintenance services.
The company's work extends beyond manufacturing floors into agriculture and water and wastewater treatment, and it also recently expanded its Norman operations, the report notes. In 2025, Rigid merged with Oklahoma City fabrication and welding firm B&H Industrial, a deal that led to the creation of RIGID Fabrication, according to the company's own site. Rigid's careers page says it is still looking to add talented, hardworking workers to its growing team.
Data Centers Driving Growth, but Not in Norman
Owner Kevin Metheny said Rigid is expanding rapidly and is not afraid of growth, framing the Noble move as part of a broader build-out. Metheny singled out data center infrastructure as probably the company's fastest-growing business sector right now, and Rigid builds infrastructure for hyperscale data centers across the country.
Despite that specialty, Rigid is not working on any data center projects in Norman, the city where it is headquartered. Norman has a one-year moratorium on data centers using evaporative cooling projected to consume more than 250,000 gallons of potable water per day, a restriction set to expire in June. That restriction tracks with a city ordinance that describes a bar on applications for rezonings, administrative approvals, permits and building permits authorizing construction, expansion or operation of data centers that use evaporative cooling projected to consume more than 250,000 gallons of potable water per day, according to Norman Ordinance No. O-2526-70. The ordinance states the moratorium would run until June 9, 2027, or until a related zoning amendment takes effect, whichever comes first, and notes that the city's zoning code does not currently contain specific regulations governing data centers or standards addressing their impacts. Norman joined other Oklahoma cities, including Luther and Broken Arrow, in enacting such moratoriums, according to KGOU.
Local Leaders Welcome the Investment
Noble Mayor Phil Freeman said the jobs are important to Noble families, businesses and the community, and said Norman and Noble are working together to promote Cleveland County as a place for economic growth. Cleveland County Commissioner Jacob McHughes said county leaders appreciate Rigid's investment in the area.
For a community that watched its signature collectibles manufacturer close two decades ago, the arrival of 120 new workers — with the promise of 80 more within a year — marks a tangible shift back toward industrial jobs on that same Noble campus. With 200 additional positions targeted across the county over three years, Rigid's bet on Cleveland County looks set to keep growing even as its biggest specialty stays sidelined in its own hometown.
