Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 11 FA C T BO O K / D O I N G B U S I N E S S I N M A I N E unemployment in the area in the early 1990s meant a motivated and available workforce. In 1993, Belfast hadn't recovered from the 1980s loss of the poultry industry that had kept it vital for decades. e city's unemployment rate spiked to 12% in the off season, and was 10% in the summer, well above Maine's unemployment rate of 6-8% at the time. At its height, MBNA had 3,000 employees in Belfast and 4,500 in Maine, including sites in Fort Kent, Presque Isle and Farmington. When Bank of America bought MNBA in 2006, many of those jobs disappeared. Now, 11 years later, athenahealth employs close to 1,000 in the sprawling complex MBNA built, and smaller companies have also found homes at the site. Anchor in an offi ce park e number one goal of T-Mobile, which employs 600 in Oakland, was to be a community's employer of choice, DelGreco says. Executives of the com- pany, which opened the call center in the town of 6,200 in 2005, had never been to Maine. at's unusual, he says. Most who seek out non-traditional Maine locations have a connection — college, ski vacations, a summer home. "I can't overstate the importance of the fact that many of them are familiar with the area." Grand Rounds, a San Francisco-based fi rm that matches patients with health care, recently opened an offi ce in Lewiston, the hometown of Danielle Snow, a senior vice president. It plans to expand its 30-employee Maine staff to 200 in the next decade in the Bates Mill complex, once the hub of Lewiston's textile industry. Carbonite, a data-storage company, moved its New Delhi call center jobs to Lewiston after a nationwide search. DelGreco says that both of the Boston-based company's founders have family in western Maine. Collaborative Consulting, of Massachusetts, in 2015 opened a delivery center in Waterville, a former mill town about 90 minutes up Interstate 95 from Portland. When Collaborative was bought in November by CGI Communications, a multi- national communications company with 72,000 employees worldwide, CGI Senior Vice President Ned Hammond knew exactly where Waterville was. Hammond, whose parents live in neighbor- ing Oakland, had his eye on the city for years. He is always on the lookout for sites in "small-town USA," largely because of the same soft skills that DelGreco references. ree years earlier, Hammond vetted Waterville, even meeting with area offi cials. A couple years later, when he saw that's where Collaborative was, it was a natural fi t. DelGreco, who worked closely with Collaborative on its move to Maine, says the fi rm chose Waterville after a three-year search that included "the biggest map of the U.S. I've ever seen," full of green and red pins, in the fi rm's Burlington, Mass., offi ce. In 2015, the story line was that Waterville beat out bigger city Bangor for the 200 jobs Collaborative planned to bring, but DelGreco says everyone missed the real story. "It wasn't Waterville vs. Bangor, it was Maine vs. a bunch of other states." e same things that attracted Collaborative to Waterville attracted CGI, Hammond says. Fresh talent from Colby, omas and Kennebec Valley Community colleges, and the city's renaissance, largely spurred by Colby, which has bought half a dozen downtown buildings for renovation. He says area leaders are also committed to fi nding ways to shift the economy from disappearing industries to new technology and business processes. Barclaycard was initially drawn to Wilton because call center ICT was housed in the former shoe factory, so it was already set up for its needs. Added to that was a town government focused on bringing industry back to the area. "We've lost thousands of jobs over the years," says Town Manager Rhonda Irish. e Bass Shoe Co., founded in Wilton in 1876, made all its shoes there until the company was sold in 1998 and moved out of the country. e town has also lost tanneries and textile mills. Wilton is beginning to turn things around, Irish says, and Barclaycard is a big part of that. McEntee says Barclaycard and the town have a "superb" relationship. "We couldn't ask for better support," she adds. McEntee says she often hears how important it is to the town that the customer support center is there. "I always get the feeling people are willing to do whatever we need to help us out." If she wants to talk to Irish, she's right down the road. "To know the town manager personally? I don't know if you get that in the bigger cities," McEntee says. e ribbon-cutting for a $5 million renovation of the site in June 2015 was a big enough deal to draw the state's congressional delegation. e unused basement was fi tted with a cafeteria, meeting room and plush lounge that highlights the Luxury Card, one of the 46 cards the company services. Employees take part in area events, like the Blueberry Festival and Farmington's annual parade honoring Chester Greenwood, inventor of earmuff s. Barclaycard employees are off ered two hours a month of paid volunteer time and many also donate their own time to community service, McEntee says. e location is not without its challenges. "Recruiting is tough. We're not going to get 500 workers from just Wilton and Farmington," so the company is constantly casting its net farther. "We're never going to be a thousand-person site. But we will be a 400, 450-person site." She says area residents want the rare career-path jobs Barclaycard off ers, and many stay with the company "for two, three, four, 10 years." Largely because of employee longevity, Wilton has become a niche services site for Barclaycard, dealing with card retention, fraud and dispute resolution, as well as regular customer service issue. Wilton staff was also sent as support to call center openings in Nevada and Ohio. "It's great to be here," McEntee. "It's exciting. ere's all of this stuff happening, and we're part of it." e feeling is echoed 90 minutes east. Hammond, of CGI, says his fi rm probably isn't done with Maine, but for now the focus is on Waterville, including locat- ing in one of the buildings Colby College is redevel- oping. "We're pretty excited about the prospects for growing our Waterville center." M M, a cor respondent for Mainebiz, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t @ . connectivity point design & installation / ME-NH-MA / 866-782-0200 / connectivitypoint.com network cabling / audio visual / security / wireless / telephone design & installation / ME-NH-MA / 866-782-0200 / connectivitypoint.com network cabling / audio visual / security / wireless / telephone We're like I.T. guys ... With tools. Connectivity Point is a Maine-owned company, specializing in the infrastructure for voice, data, video, and security applications. Our local technicians assist customers from Bangor to Boston and our global partner network—through The Connectivity Group—expands our reach, which means we'll keep you connected no matter where your offi ces are. Get to know us at connectivitypoint.com Q UA L I T Y O F L I F E I always get the feeling I always get the feeling I always get the feeling I always get the feeling I always get the feeling I always get the feeling I always get the feeling I always get the feeling I always get the feeling I always get the feeling I always get the feeling I always get the feeling I always get the feeling I always get the feeling people are willing to do people are willing to do people are willing to do people are willing to do people are willing to do people are willing to do people are willing to do people are willing to do people are willing to do people are willing to do people are willing to do people are willing to do people are willing to do whatever we need to help us out. — Jen McEntee Barclaycard

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