Empereon hires first of 600 employees

An initial group of 50 workers has been hired at Potter County's newest employer, Empereon Marketing.

It's the first wave of a staffing plan that is forecasted to produce as many as 600 new jobs in Coudersport by the end of 2008. Approximately 100 of those jobs will be filled over the next two months, according to an Empereon spokesman. By June 2008, the workforce should hit the 400 mark.

Empereon will operate a modern customer contact center at the former "tennis center" in west Coudersport, which was headquarters for a call center operated by Adelphia and, later, Time Warner.

Time Warner has donated the building to the Potter County Redevelopment Authority, which is leasing it to Empereon. The company does expect to buy it eventually.

Empereon, based in Phoenix, Ariz., is an outsourcer handling customer contacts for large cable companies and major newspaper/media chains. The Coudersport agents will handle telephone and Internet contacts for customer service, technical support and marketing.

Delays in the installation of high-tech Internet and telephone equipment delayed the center's forecasted late October opening, but those obstacles have been overcome, according to Jamie Evens, general manager for the Empereon facility.

The first 50 employees are scheduled for training later this month and will then report for their first day of customer care responsibilities. Training of new employees will continue while the center expands.

Another Coudersport employer has also announced expansion plans. AP Wagner, an appliance parts supplier that opened a customer contact center in the Coudersport Industrial Park earlier this year, will relocate to the former International Paper Company office complex on East Second Street.

That building has been purchased from the Adelphia estate by the Potter County Redevelopment Authority. AP Wagner will move there to solve a space crunch at its current location and add to its current work force of 35.

AP Wagner services a growing network of appliance dealers, service technicians and do-it- yourselfers. Corporate offices are located in Depew, N.Y., with 18 branch locations in the U.S. and Canada.