The slowdown in the high-technology sector is turning out to be a boon
for Columbus-based CallTech Communications LLP, which continues to add
high-profile clients and hire more employees.
The company has signed an agreement to provide support services to
customers of $1.3 billion Iomega Corp. Terms of the three-year agreement
weren't disclosed.
Iomega makes and markets Zip, Jaz and PocketZipT drives and disks as
well as other computer hardware products. The products allow customers
to save, share, manage and create information, such as Internet
downloads and audio files, while protecting content from viruses and
hackers.
The deal will mean the creation of 125 positions at CallTech's call
center in Brownsville, Pa. Kent Bowen, CallTech's president, said the
business will be handled out of the 40,000-square-foot Brownsville
center because it is one of the company's newer facilities and it has
access to a "good pool of technically competent workers."
Founded in 1996, CallTech is a customer service, technical support and
product sales representative mostly for high-tech companies. CallTech
responds to calls, e-mails and instant messages for its clients.
The company had sales of approximately $28 million last year.
Its employment has grown quickly in five years to about 1,700 workers.
"The downturn in the technology economy has really forced companies to
be more cost conscious," Bowen said. "So even, those that hadn't
considered outsourcing before are reviewing all their options and we're
providing better, quicker, cheaper solutions."
According to information Call Center News Service obtained from
International Data Corp., the worldwide call center services market
totaled $23 billion in revenue in 1998 and is projected to double to
$58.6 billion by 2003.
CallTech's services range from simple order-entry systems to complex
customized customer service and technical support applications. Clients
include AOL-Time Warner Inc., CompuServe, the state of Ohio,
Priceline.com and BellSouth.
The company has expanded its facilities over the last few years and now
operates offices on Equity Drive and in Arlingate Plaza, as well as in
Brownsville and Fort Myers, Fla. The bulk of the company's employees are
based in Columbus.
