Company seeks incentives to put center in Columbus
By Ken Stammen
A Columbus company that takes customer-service calls for large
businesses will add at least 300 jobs.
The question is whether those jobs will be in Ohio.
CallTech Communications would like to open a second call center in the
Columbus area, but that depends on what kind of incentives state
officials come up with, company President Kent Bowen said.
The company has applied for state and city job-creation tax credits, but
is also looking at sites in Georgia and two other states.
"We're fairly confident that Ohio is going to deliver, and we want to
deliver here as well,'' Bowen said.
"I think that's a fairly strong probability.''
CallTech needs the new workers to handle increased business from new and
existing clients. The company is running out of space at its call center
on Equity Drive on the Far West Side, he said. CallTech employs about
650 workers at the site, which also houses its headquarters.
The company, founded in Columbus in 1996, also has call centers in
Albany, Ga.; Brownsville, Pa.; Columbia, S.C.; and Fort Myers, Fla.
The company handles inbound technical support, customer service and
sales calls for Internet service providers, telephone companies,
retailers and others. Clients include Abercrombie & Fitch, BellSouth,
the Ohio Department of Travel and Tourism and Verizon.
"We're not the guys who bug you at dinnertime,'' Bowen said. "We don't
do any outbound telemarketing.''
CallTech also develops systems allowing callers to press or say numbers
to reach certain departments at a company.
CallTech's business has been growing because it can handle inbound calls
for companies more cheaply than its clients could, Bowen said.
While the privately held company doesn't release financial data, he said
CallTech's revenues are up 50 percent so far this year.
The Ohio Tax Credit Authority is expected to decide on CallTech's
job-creation tax-credit application on Aug. 25, a spokeswoman said.
If the package is approved, CallTech plans to open a call center at one
of three Columbus-area sites that the company is considering. Bowen
declined to identify the sites.
He said CallTech wouldn't move jobs out of the Columbus operation.
Starting pay for the new jobs will be $10 to $12 an hour.
Local economic-development officials say they'd welcome the CallTech
jobs.
"It points to the fact that Columbus as a tech center continues to
retain jobs and is an environment for growth,'' said James Schimmer,
economic-development administrator for the city of Columbus. "The
potential for CallTech to expand in Columbus is welcome news.''
Schimmer said development department staff members will review
CallTech's tax-credit request and make a recommendation to department
director Mark Barbash.
Columbus City Council will have the final say and could consider the
request in September, Schimmer said.
