Job fair scheduled for new call center

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Apr 13, 2003 | by Chris Walsh

ICT Group Inc. announced last week it will open a call center in Colorado Springs and employ 500.

But the Pennsylvaniabased customer service firm didn't say when it would start hiring or how workers should apply.

Job-seekers flooded The Gazette with phone calls and e-mails, saying receptionists at ICT headquarters knew nothing of the new call center.

Now we have the answer.

ICT will hold a job fair 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at 980 Elkton Drive, off Garden of the Gods Road.

The company did not say how many it plans to hire, but the Greater Colorado Springs Economic Development Corp. estimates ICT eventually will employ up to 500 people.

The call center will handle calls from customers of Virgin Mobile LLC, a cell phone provider that targets the youth market.

ICT's new center will be in the former Gateway Inc. building in the Garden of the Gods Road corridor.

Graphics firm gets infusion

A state-certified investment firm in Colorado Springs announced last week its first local financing deal, a $400,000 infusion in graphics software developer Altia Inc. While the investment amount is relatively small, Altia is the first Springs firm to benefit from a program created by the state last year to bring jobs and spur financing in Colorado companies.

The funding allows Altia to grow in a time when most high-tech companies are struggling just to survive.

Altia plans to boost its 14-employee work force with four more engineers and sales workers and expand its marketing efforts.

"We don't need the money to survive or to grow at the pace we had planned to, but this will let us grow faster than expected," said Mike Juran, a founder and president of Altia.

The investment is debt financing - a loan that allows Altia to retain ownership yet receive capital.

Altia, founded in 1991, makes software that helps companies create graphics displays, such as digital maps on navigation systems in automobiles. Its software also is used to create the displays on cell phone screens and medical devices, and on ship and plane navigational systems.

"We are a profitable company, and we've been profitable for the past 11 years," Juran said. "Right now investors are looking for those kind of companies."

The firm's customers include Lockheed Martin, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.

Under the state investment program, created last year, insurance companies that invest in Colorado venture firms receive tax credits.

Six Colorado startup companies received money in 2002 under the Certified Capital Co. (CAPCO) program.

Wireless company expands

Wireless Internet firm USURF America Inc. continues to expand in Colorado Springs.

The Denver-based company has opened a seven-employee customer service center in north Colorado Springs.

USURF entered the local market last year, installing antennas that provide wireless Internet and phone service to several areas of the Springs.

The company's goal is to bring speedy wireless service to areas that currently aren't served by other high-speed Internet options such as digital subscriber lines and cable modems.

On the Beat is a weekly column culled from reporters' notebooks

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