Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I N O. X X I V O C T O B E R 5 , 2 0 2 0 10 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E B R I E F Brunswick Landing call center looks to fill 800 positions B y R e n e e C o r d e s B r u n s w i c k — SaviLinx LLC, a Brunswick Landing- based call center company with a growing geographic footprint, is expanding inside and outside of Maine with plans to hire hundreds. In addition to its presence at Brunswick Landing and in Hattiesburg, Miss., SaviLinx is establishing facilities in Caribou in Aroostook County and Lawrence, Mass. The new locations are in leased facilities. Lawrence is already occupied, while Caribou is getting spiffed up and outfitted with technology before opening its doors. SaviLinx, which currently has a workforce of around 1,000, is hiring in all locations, with more than 800 positions to fill. The openings are for seasonal customer service agents to help military members and their families choose and enroll in health insurance plans. While the positions range in length for up to three months, they have the potential to be converted to year-round positions. It's also hiring year-round agents to advise citizens about insurance and medi- cal leave options. "Generally, we look for areas to locate that have experienced economic adversity that would benefit with good paying jobs," Heather Blease, the company's president and CEO, told Mainebiz. "Now that many of our positions allow the option of working from home, we have greater flexibility to tap into areas that may have been overlooked in the past. We can enter areas with a much smaller physical footprint," she added. She also said that as a Maine company, SaviLinx would like to continue to expand in its home state and is optimistic about its new presence in Caribou. "The town has been super-supportive in helping to facilitate our new location and we truly feel that it will be a win-win situation for SaviLinx and Caribou," she said. Blease also noted that the company needed to locate in Massachusetts as a requirement of one of its contracts. SaviLinx has appeared on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. The latest ranking puts it at No. 4,909 with 58% in revenue growth from 2016 to 2019. SaviLinx had 2019 revenues of $18 million. Blease, who has a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maine alumnus, got her start in Maine's call-center industry in 1995 and founded SaviLinx in 2013. The listings show an hourly salary of $15.73 for a temporary customer service representative position in Caribou and $17.15 an hour for the same position in Brunswick. F I L E P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Heather Blease, president and CEO, said SaviLinx is looking to fill 800 positions.

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