| Call Center Triples Estimates for Jobs
The good news for Brewer got even better Wednesday, when officials
from a new call center tripled their projection for the number of jobs expected
to be created.
During a press conference at City Hall, Consumer Response Services President
Chris Austin announced that his company plans to hire over the next four to six
months as many as 300 employees for its new Brewer facility, located in the Twin
City Shopping Plaza on State Street.
Earlier estimates set the number of workers at 100 or more.
CRS, according to company officials, is a Biddeford-based direct response
marketing company founded by 32-year-old Austin in 1998. The company employs 150
workers at its Biddeford facility on Alfred Street.
Vice President John Stewart, 28, who also attended the briefing, joined the
company in 1999.
Unlike traditional telemarketing operations, CRS only answers calls. It does
not make them, Austin said.
Lee Vento, manager of the new Brewer location, said the company began setting
up shop about a week ago and already has hired 22 employees. Staffers at the
Brewer site began accepting calls from customers Wednesday.
Founded in 1998, CRS develops, markets, sells and ships quality products to
consumers across the United States and throughout Canada. The products are
primarily educational, related to health and self-improvement. The products are
advertised on television, radio and in print media.
‘‘Our business needed to expand in order to meet demand for our
services,’’ Austin said earlier. ‘‘Our growth demanded that we find a
new site to establish a satellite call center and Brewer fit the bill.’’
According to Austin, the availability of labor in the area and reasonable
facility costs led him to look at Brewer for his expansion plans. He added,
however, that the help and support provided by city staff helped him make his
final decision to locate here.
Another factor in the company’s decision, Austin said Wednesday, was the
need for a separate location in the event of interruptions in telephone service
at either facility. Should the phones go out at one facility, calls can be
rerouted to the other until service is restored.
Brewer officials, who were joined by state Rep. Charles ‘‘Dusty’’
Fisher, D-Brewer, and Gail Kelly of U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe’s office, lauded
the company’s decision to do business in Brewer.
‘‘Thank you for investing in our community and our region,’’ said
Mayor Eddie Campbell in welcoming CRS to the city. ‘‘Our region is moving in
the right direction.’’
Councilor Manley DeBeck Jr. presented CRS officials with pins bearing the
city seal. ‘‘Welcome to Brewer,’’ he said. ‘‘May you be here for
years and years.’’
David Cole, president of Eastern Maine Development Corp., said he saw the
expansion as another step toward the new economy, which he said centered on
services, telecommunications and information technology.
‘‘I would also say that it’s a tribute to Brewer and the region that
this southern Maine company is looking to come north,’’ Cole said. ‘‘The
word on eastern Maine has gotten out.’’
According to Vento, the positions CRS is bringing to Brewer are high-value
jobs for the community. Salaries for these positions are commission-based, and
the average call center employee at CRS earns more than $13 an hour.
Austin said the company’s top earner is expected to earn as much as $70,000
this year if he continues at his current rate.
Vento said employees are eligible for health benefits, optional dental
benefits and a 401(k) retirement plan, with the company providing a 25 percent
match on the first 4 percent invested by employees.
‘‘We are very, very happy with the applicants so far,’’ Vento said,
adding that applicants need not have sales experience to be considered and that
the company offers training to all new employees.
Though the bulk of the company’s work force is employed on a full-time
basis, Vento said, CRS offers a flexible schedule in a ‘‘very, very
casual’’ work environment.
According to a company fact sheet distributed Wednesday, CRS grossed
approximately $7.5 million in revenue last year. CRS officials are projecting
gross revenues in excess of $25 million for 2000.
Job seekers interested in learning more about CRS and its employment
opportunities are invited to call 989-8233 or stop by the Brewer facility at 274
State St. in the Twin City Plaza.
This is a copyright article written by Dawn Gagnon of the NEWS Staff that
appeared in the Bangor Daily News, Wednesday, March 16, 2000.
Economic Development News
Brewer Economic Development Office
D'arcy Main-Boyington
(207)989-7500
Brewer City Hall
80 North Main Street
Brewer, Maine 04412
dmain-boyington@brewerme.org
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