Consultants Forum Advertise
Subscribe
Close

  • Free for qualified executives and consultants to industry

  • Receive quarterly issues of Area Development Magazine and special market report and directory issues

Subscribe Now
Renew

Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Ansafone Invests $2 Million In Ocala, Florida, Customer Service Center, Creating 300 Jobs

07/24/2012
Ansafone, a national telephone call and contact center providing everything from basic answering services to large scale contact center solutions for major large companies, will invest $2 million to move into and improve a Customer Service Center in downtown Ocala, Florida, with projections of creating 300 jobs.

According to the Ocala Marion County Economic Development Corporation,"as part of the private-public partnership, Ocala City Council and Marion County Board of County Commissioners joined forces to assist Ansafone with the creation of 300 jobs."

Under the incentive plan, Ansafone will invest $2 million to renovate facilities at NE 2nd Street in downtown Ocala. The building has been vacant since Maslow Insurance closed more than two years ago. The City of Ocala agreed to invest $550,000 to increase the parking at the facility from 30 to 70 spaces and provide another parcel with 140 spaces within three blocks. In addition, Marion County Board of County Commissioners approved a $300,000 grant for the company's performance-based job creation projection of 300 jobs over three years. County officials said they were pleased that this agreement will put new life into a long vacant commercial building in downtown Ocala.

Ansafone President Randy Harmat said "we plan to add 300 jobs in the Marion County, Florida market in the next three years by adding this site in downtown Ocala. We take pride in our contributions to the local communities and value this opportunity to include Ocala, Florida in their future growth plan. This site is also desirable for its proximity to public transportation and local merchants where employees have easy access to their daily needs. Ansafone has a reputation of a family friendly environment that allows employees empowerment, flexibility and creativity to support the success of the organization and its valued employees."

"We are a company built on relationships and take pride in our low turn-over. We have been very pleased with the smaller operation we currently have in Ocala," says Harmat. "The workforce has been talented, dependable, loyal and they extend our company's values to all our customers. As the company was seeking a new location for growth, Ocala made sense. We feel we can not only expand our contact center here, but also build a strong management team as well. Ocala will be our largest facility. The EDC, local and state government agencies have worked diligently with us to make this happen. We are truly excited."

In addition, Workforce Connection will be partnering with Ansafone personnel to recruit employees for the company. County officials noted that several call center operators from around the country are now looking for properties in Marion County and all across the country, rather than outsourcing their operations to other countries.

Exclusive Research