ConnectOne Partnership Opens Trinidad-based Call Center: International Telemarketing Company is Major Employer.

Business Editors

CHAGUARAMAS, Trinidad--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 26, 2000

ConnectOne International, based in Toronto, through a joint venture project with Trinidad-based Gillette Group, today opened a major, international telemarketing call center in Chaguaramas, outside Port of Spain, Trinidad.

The new company, DirecOne International Call Center opens with nearly 700 employees and has the technical capacity and existing floor space to expand to nearly 1,200 employees as demand for the out-bound international call center increases.

According to Bharat Hansraj, ConnectOne International's CEO, the Trinidad base of operation offers several attractive benefits. "Today's technology allows companies, such as ours, the ability to originate our out-bound call centers from a number of locations," he said, "so geography is not nearly as important as it was just a few years ago. That means we can go where we find the best economic incentives. Further, the ability to form a joint venture with the Gillette Group's DirecOne in Trinidad opened the door to a tremendous asset--an educated and motivated, and available, workforce."

Hansraj was also able to leverage important business relationships with a number of his company's existing clients so that contracts for telemarketing services would be in place when the call center's doors opened. "We are particularly pleased that our client CompuCredit Corporation, a credit card marketing company based in Atlanta, Georgia, has contracted for our new call center's services," he said. "As CompuCredit's out-bound telemarketing needs have grown, we have expanded our work for them. As we open our new Chaguaramas facility, CompuCredit will be our largest client."

In addition to a variety of grand opening activities scheduled for the day, Prime Minister Basdeo Panday was expected to be on hand to inaugurate the center by placing a call to a CompuCredit senior executive. The call center is the largest out-bound service in the country and, with 700 employees and expansion already planned for nearly 1,200, it is one of the major employers in the country's growing technology sector.

The call center will utilize cutting edge predictive dialing solutions allowing the center to conduct up to 576 simultaneous out-bound calls. Technology is already in place to provide other clients in-bound customer service features.

ConnectOne International Inc., based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, provides both in-bound customer service operations and out-bound telemarketing services for some of North America's largest companies. In addition to the new center in Chaguaramas, ConnectOne has four centers in Canada, one center in Grenada, and is considering other Caribbean island locations. It is the minority partner in the Trinidad joint venture with Gillette Group.