By By ROBERT BLANKENSHIP – Managing Editor
Brewton received good news Tuesday as Econec Internet announced that they plan to open a new customer service center that will employ approximately 175 employees.
Gary Stanley, president of Econec, Inc., said Brewton was selected for the company's new high technology customer service call center. The facility will also serve as a satellite distribution and Internet sales facility.
Econec is looking to employ up to 175 people to serve as customer service representatives (CSRs), according to Stanley. They will be managed by Monica Norris of Brewton. Other related job titles - including shipping and receiving, Web design, graphic design and network operation personnel - will be required to maintain the 24-hour, seven-day-a-week operation.
Stanley said the Econec Internet Customer Service Center (EICSC) will combine telephone-based support with Web-based services, including email, chat and remote desktop client services delivered via Internet applications.
Bill Ahern, vice-president of Econec, said potential employees will undergo a four-week training curriculum. He said training will continue until the employee reaches a Level I CSR at which point they can take calls from any client.
According to a press release issued by the South Alabama Economic Development Partnership (SAEDP), the marketing team for Brewton which helped lure the facility included: Brewton Mayor Ted Jennings, Jim Clifton of the ASEDP, Byron Dunn and Harry Cecil of the Alabama Technology Network of Brewton, the Escambia County Industrial Development Authority and the Brewton Industrial Development Board.
Clifton, who serves as business director for he SAEDP and the project team leader said that Brewton was up against some big competition in landing the facility.
The facility will be located in the building formerly home to Burke's clothing store in Brewton Plaza.
A big plus for Brewton was that Econec would have access to the Alabama Technology Network's facility until Econec's new home is renovated and ready to open in late summer. In addition to providing various types of technical support and helping Econec find needed resources, ATN-Brewton quickly reconfigured the ATN center's lab to allow Econec to immediately expand their technical support group until the call center is complete.
According to Dunn, who serves as director of the ATN-Brewton center, the launch of the EICSC is an important foundation stone for building a new technology-based economic reality in rural South Alabama.
Clifton said the new jobs should be a boost for the local economy.
Brewton Mayor Ted Jennings said that as the marketing team leader, Clifton played a large role in bringing the center to Brewton.
Potential employees are being encouraged to apply at the State of Alabama Career Center in the Brewton Heights Shopping Center. For more information about employment opportunities with EICSC, contact 867-4826.