By Andrew Hellpap
newseditor@themonroetimes.com
MONROE - One of the city's largest employers, Charlton, could be in line for some good news following its sale to Mesa, Ariz.-based iPacesetters June 1, according to the company's president.
iPacesetters has its sights set on expanding all of its recently purchased Wisconsin locations, including Monroe, said Frank Royal, iPacesetters president, who was in Monroe this week on a state tour of the company's new locations.
"We want to max out the three sites," he said, referring to the call centers previously owned by Madison-based Charlton in Eau Claire, Monroe and Whitewater.
Charlton's four Wisconsin locations employed about 820 people including, 274 in Monroe, 302 in Whitewater, 211 in Eau Claire and 33 in Madison, according to figures provided by iPacetters Tuesday.
The company is currently seeking new contracts with cable providers, and is close with one that could add 15 to 20 jobs to the Monroe call center within 60 days, and up to 100 potentially, Royal said.
iPacesetters - a smaller company than Charlton, according to Royal - began as a call center handling telemarketing for the publishing industry, but after being purchased by the venture capital firm Kid & Company, based in Greenwich, Conn., in 2009, the company began to spread out into four key areas of growth in the telemarketing industry, he said. iPacesetters chose to focus on the telecommunications, publishing, health care and financial industries because those sectors showed growth potential in addition to providing diversity to protect the business against a downturn in the economy, Royal said.
The cable industry fell into the company's corporate vision, which meant Charlton was a natural fit, he said. Charlton was one of the industry's largest telemarketing firms.
Charlton also offered iPacesetters a talent pool that was advantageous to its customers in the cable industry. Unlike larger cities such as Chicago, or Phoenix, Ariz., which have numerous call centers competing for the same talent - often creating a revolving door of employees from center to center among competing companies - Charlton in Monroe has a relatively stable talent pool to draw from. Some telemarketing employees have even developed years of experience, Royal said.
The other attractive aspect of Charlton was what he called a swing in the telemarketing industry away from overseas call centers to United States-based centers because they provide employees who may have a certain dialect or presentation on a telemarketing call that some people might respond more favorably to, Royal said.
The Charlton name will eventually disappear as iPacesetters completes corporate transition of the company. Within 60 to 90 days, the company will begin to change the name on the side of buildings in Wisconsin, Royal said. Employees are already seeing a change on their paychecks, as the iPacesetters name now appears. Those who receive calls from Charlton might also begin to hear a message briefly explaining the company is now under new ownership, he said.
Prior to Royal being hired by iPacesetters in October 2009, the company began speaking with Charlton about the possibility of buying the firm. In October 2009, iPacesetters again started up talks with Charlton, eventually culminating with a letter of intent to purchase the company in January; the sale was finalized June 1, Royal said.
As part of the growth of iPacesetters, the company does not plan to consolidate the three Wisconsin call centers, he said, but the company does own or is building call centers overseas in Gurgaon, India; Baguio, Philippines, and Manila, Philippines.
Charlton began in 1987 in Madison. After the company opened to its current location in Monroe, it expanded in about 2003, and takes up a large portion of the strip mall at 109 W. 8th St.
The company would like to see the Monroe location expand to between 400 to 500 employees, Royal said.
"It wouldn't make sense for us to buy the company and close it down," he said, referring to the future of the Monroe location.
newseditor@themonroetimes.com
MONROE - One of the city's largest employers, Charlton, could be in line for some good news following its sale to Mesa, Ariz.-based iPacesetters June 1, according to the company's president.
iPacesetters has its sights set on expanding all of its recently purchased Wisconsin locations, including Monroe, said Frank Royal, iPacesetters president, who was in Monroe this week on a state tour of the company's new locations.
"We want to max out the three sites," he said, referring to the call centers previously owned by Madison-based Charlton in Eau Claire, Monroe and Whitewater.
Charlton's four Wisconsin locations employed about 820 people including, 274 in Monroe, 302 in Whitewater, 211 in Eau Claire and 33 in Madison, according to figures provided by iPacetters Tuesday.
The company is currently seeking new contracts with cable providers, and is close with one that could add 15 to 20 jobs to the Monroe call center within 60 days, and up to 100 potentially, Royal said.
iPacesetters - a smaller company than Charlton, according to Royal - began as a call center handling telemarketing for the publishing industry, but after being purchased by the venture capital firm Kid & Company, based in Greenwich, Conn., in 2009, the company began to spread out into four key areas of growth in the telemarketing industry, he said. iPacesetters chose to focus on the telecommunications, publishing, health care and financial industries because those sectors showed growth potential in addition to providing diversity to protect the business against a downturn in the economy, Royal said.
The cable industry fell into the company's corporate vision, which meant Charlton was a natural fit, he said. Charlton was one of the industry's largest telemarketing firms.
Charlton also offered iPacesetters a talent pool that was advantageous to its customers in the cable industry. Unlike larger cities such as Chicago, or Phoenix, Ariz., which have numerous call centers competing for the same talent - often creating a revolving door of employees from center to center among competing companies - Charlton in Monroe has a relatively stable talent pool to draw from. Some telemarketing employees have even developed years of experience, Royal said.
The other attractive aspect of Charlton was what he called a swing in the telemarketing industry away from overseas call centers to United States-based centers because they provide employees who may have a certain dialect or presentation on a telemarketing call that some people might respond more favorably to, Royal said.
The Charlton name will eventually disappear as iPacesetters completes corporate transition of the company. Within 60 to 90 days, the company will begin to change the name on the side of buildings in Wisconsin, Royal said. Employees are already seeing a change on their paychecks, as the iPacesetters name now appears. Those who receive calls from Charlton might also begin to hear a message briefly explaining the company is now under new ownership, he said.
Prior to Royal being hired by iPacesetters in October 2009, the company began speaking with Charlton about the possibility of buying the firm. In October 2009, iPacesetters again started up talks with Charlton, eventually culminating with a letter of intent to purchase the company in January; the sale was finalized June 1, Royal said.
As part of the growth of iPacesetters, the company does not plan to consolidate the three Wisconsin call centers, he said, but the company does own or is building call centers overseas in Gurgaon, India; Baguio, Philippines, and Manila, Philippines.
Charlton began in 1987 in Madison. After the company opened to its current location in Monroe, it expanded in about 2003, and takes up a large portion of the strip mall at 109 W. 8th St.
The company would like to see the Monroe location expand to between 400 to 500 employees, Royal said.
"It wouldn't make sense for us to buy the company and close it down," he said, referring to the future of the Monroe location.