NEW EMPLOYER OPENS DOORS
Empereon could hire as many as 600

First day on the job for employees of Empereon Marketing in Coudersport went off without a hitch. The first of hundreds of people who will be hired over the next year started Wednesday. They are (l-r) Candi Hand, Krystle Walker, Kim Pennington, Lindsey Payne, Josh McNeil (seated), General Manager Jamie Evens, Terri Walker, Charlene Hemphill, Christina Foy, Faith Amell and Tracy Tucker.

This is a historic week in Coudersport.

On Wednesday, the new Empereon Marketing customer contact center began making its first outbound sales calls.

"Ten agents were on the floor starting on Wednesday, with 18 more being trained next week," said Jamie Evens, general manager of the Coudersport center.

"So far, 85 employees have accepted jobs," Evens added. "All 85 should be on the job by Christmas."

Problems with telephone technology and Internet connectivity delayed the center's opening for several weeks.

The hiring will continue through 2008, reaching upwards of 600 jobs by year's end. By July, the workforce should hit the 400 mark.

Empereon will operate a modern customer center at the former Tennis Center in west Coudersport, which was headquarters for customer operations at Adelphia and, later, Time Warner.

Time Warner donated the building to the Potter County Redevelopment Authority, which is leasing it to Empereon.

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

base of skilled workers formerly employed by Adelphia or Time Warner. Hundreds of them lost their jobs when Time Warner abruptly shut down its Coudersport operations in February.

Evens said only customer care representatives have been hired so far, but Empereon will soon add managerial jobs in human resources and information technology.

A $1 million state funding package helped lure Empereon to Coudersport. It consisted of a $450,000 grant from the Pa. Dept. of Community and Economic Development, a low- interest loan of $350,000 for machinery and equipment, and a $200,000 job training loan.

Other Empereon customer contact centers are located in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. In Coudersport, the business has started with outbound calling services. It will expand by accepting inbound customer service, technical support calls and Internet contacts.