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STILWELL, OKLAHOMA - Cherokee Nation Industries (CNI) enters a new fiscal year on sound financial footing after posting profits in two key divisions and taking an inventory write-off in a third.

“Because of our diversity, we are a strong, growing company,” said Jim Majewski, who took over as CNI’s president and CEO in late August.

CNI’s diversity includes strong manufacturing and professional services divisions. CNI has more than $10 million worth of manufacturing contracts with clients like the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, Boeing, Lockheed-Grumman, the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marines.

“We have proven relationships and a reputation for delivering quality products on time,” Majewski said. “The future for our manufacturing industry looks bright.”

CNI has a backlog of more than $25 million in its professional services division, which places medical personnel with the military and engineers with NASA’s Space Shuttle program.

“The backlog for professional services could exceed $100 million in the next few months,” Majewski said.

At year end, CNI wrote off more than $8 million to account for slow moving telecommunications inventory.

“The entire telecommunications industry has been soft for almost two years,” Majewski said. “We still have the inventory, and it’s still selling - slowly. The write-off is really a sign of the times. Some of the people we sold to, like Lucent Technologies, Williams Communication and WorldCom, have had a really rough time. More than 50 of our competitors in the telecommunications industry have filed for bankruptcy and have accounted for more than 500,000 lost jobs.”

CNI’s relationships with lending institutions and vendors continue to be extremely healthy, despite the general downturn in the overall economy.

“Telecommunications is still in a slump nationwide,” Majewski said. “Fortunately, CNI’s diversity allows us to continue to prosper even when one of our divisions takes a hit from the economy. With an inventory restructuring of our telecommunications division, we take care of a two-year old problem and position ourselves to take advantage of any positive upturn in the industry. By taking this short term hit, we put the situation behind us and are better prepared to face the future.”

CNI employs nearly 400 people worldwide, including more than 190 in northeastern Oklahoma. CNI is a tribally owned corporation of the Cherokee Nation and is comprised of distribution, professional services, telecommunications, and manufacturing divisions.

CNI was incorporated in 1969 to serve as the economic and workforce development arm for the tribe. The company, headquartered in Stilwell, Oklahoma, has more than 30 years contracting and distribution experience in the professional services, aerospace, defense and telecommunication industries. For more information on Cherokee Nation Industries, visit the company’s website.