Coudersport prepares for new employer Empereon

Start-up of the new Empereon customer contact center in Coudersport is still several weeks away, but the company is hardly standing still.

While waiting for final arrangements to fall into place at the former Time Warner customer center -- known to many as the "Tennis Center" -- Empereon expects to begin job interviews, initial hiring and training later this month. The center will likely open in September.

Time Warner Cable is donating the building to the Potter County Redevelopment Authority, which will lease it to Empereon. The company does expect to buy it eventually.

A source familiar with the recruitment process said there was competition among companies seeking to occupy the Tennis Center.

"There were others that wanted to come in," he said.

"But they

weren't going to pay the wage that we wanted; they weren't going to make the necessary commitments that we wanted, and they didn't have the diversified customer base that we wanted. Empereon met all those three requirements."

John Wright, executive director of the Redevelopment Authority, said the agency continues to recruit employers for other former Adelphia or Time Warner properties in Coudersport. Technical arrangements, especially Internet and telephone connections, still must be made before Empereon can move into the Tennis Center.

Empereon CEO Travis Bowley (pictured) said the company expects to establish a workforce of about 150, and then steadily ramp up to 450 or more jobs within two to three years.

Initially, the Coudersport center will handle outbound calls to customers of Empereon's clients. Later, the center will accept inbound customer service and technical support calls, as well as Internet contacts.

Empereon, based in Phoenix, Ariz., is an outsourcer handling customer contacts for cable giants Cox, Time Warner and Charter, as well as major newspaper/media chains. Current Empereon customer contact centers are located in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.

Jamie Evens of Turtlepoint, former customer care manager for Adelphia and later Time Warner in Coudersport, has been hired as director of the Empereon center.

Bowley said his company was attracted by the presence of hundreds of skilled customer service employees in and around Coudersport, many of whom lost their jobs in February when Time Warner shut down the Tennis Center.