BalanceBPO to create jobs
By Kathy McCarty
PRESQUE ISLE — Former Presque Isle resident Tim Lavin has returned to the Star City to open his newest business venture, BalanceBPO, Inc., at 18 Greenhill Drive, the site most recently occupied by Connect North America.
“I’m very excited to be back in the area. People may not know this, but I was born and raised here. I was born at AR Gould in 1969, attended Pine Street Elementary, Cunningham Middle School and my freshman year of high school was at PIHS. My grandfather started Northern Pipe & Supply back in the ‘50s and it operated in the city until the early ‘90s,” said Lavin, co-founder, president and CEO of BalanceBPO, Inc.
Company officials will be on hand Friday, Sept. 17, to host the grand opening of the business’s newest facility. Gov. John Baldacci, as well as numerous other state and local officials and other guests of honor, will join BalanceBPO in unveiling the newly-renovated facility, located west of the Presque Isle Inn & Convention Center.
Ceremonies will include keynote speeches from Baldacci and other honored guests, as well as a color guard and ribbon cutting, followed by a light luncheon served at the pavilion on the west lawn of the facility.
Executives from New York City-headquartered TxVia, a cards-based payments company, will be guests of honor at the event.
“TxVia and BalanceBPO have formed a strategic relationship whereby TxVia will occupy approximately half of the facility and directly employ people from Presque Isle and the surrounding areas to handle customer contacts and conduct other back-office operations. TxVia intends to hire more than 100 people over the next 12 months,” said Lavin.
The facility will also be used as BalanceBPO’s “center of excellence” to attract direct partnerships with Fortune 500 and other blue-chip clients. The company’s Balanced Service Process, supported by their proprietary software, TruView, provides clients with demonstrable improvements to single-call resolution rates, a key metric in all inbound customer service call centers, and clearly differentiates BalanceBPO from the rest of the industry, noted Lavin.
“Both the process and software will be refined from this base of operations in Presque Isle. As business needs develop, the company will open expansion sites in both the U.S. and internationally,” said Lavin.
At full capacity, BalanceBPO intends to employ over 100 people in Presque Isle.
“The legendary work ethic of Aroostook County, coupled with the elegance, capabilities and security of our new facility, makes our entry into Maine very exciting,” said Lavin. “I am thrilled to base my operations in Presque Isle, where people take pride in their work. Mainers have an inherent characteristic to accept ownership and find resolution; it’s what life in The County is about, and it’s the core principle of BalanceBPO.”
Lavin said luck played a major role in his return to Presque Isle.
“I’ve started up call centers throughout the U.S. and the Philippines. It was sheer luck that I moved back to Presque Isle. Mike Willette, a lifelong friend, called me as we were looking for a start-up site, right when negotiations had broken down in Texas, to inform me of the vacancy at 18 Greenhill Drive. My partner, Dan Pearce, and I flew here almost immediately. I could vouch for the work ethic of the community and the negotiations with NMFC (Northern Maine Finance Corporation) went very quickly,” said Lavin.
Lavin was amazed at how quickly things have progressed.
“In a flash I was back. It’s been exciting and very surreal,” said Lavin.
Asked about the ‘BPO’ in the company’s name, Lavin offered an explanation.
“With regard to the name BalanceBPO, the ‘BPO’ stands for ‘Business Process Outsourcing,’ an industry term (like ‘MFG’ for manufacturing),” said Lavin, noting many people refer to his company as ‘BPO’ for short, while others refer to the business as ‘Balance.’
TxVia is equally excited about the prospects of the new Aroostook County branch.
“The opening of the Presque Isle facility is a key part of the expansion of our managed services function and will complement TxVia’s international servicing centers,” said Matthew Nyren, vice president, Managed Services. “The world-class quality of the facility, the well-educated workforce and the tremendous support provided by the Aroostook County community made our decision to expand operations into northern Maine quite easy.”
The United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development provided part of the funding — part of the $350,000 NMFC will use to assist with upgrading two commercial buildings, one of which BalanceBPO is moving into — to support BalanceBPO’s entry into Aroostook County. USDA Rural Development State Director Virginia Manuel voiced her support for the company’s decision to locate here.
“I wish to extend my congratulations to BalanceBPO on the opening of their new state-of-the-art facility. BalanceBPO will provide much-needed jobs, helping to boost Aroostook County’s local economy. USDA Rural Development is pleased to be a part of the funding of this project,” said Manuel.
NMFC will be leasing the building to BalanceBPO.
“NMFC is extremely pleased that we were put in contact with the professionals at BalanceBPO and have the opportunity to bring back ‘one of our own’ to The County and Presque Isle, not to mention helping put our trained workforce back to work,” said NMFC Vice President Duane Walton.
The building — constructed by MBNA in 1999 — overlooks the city from 15 private, fully secured and immaculately landscaped acres. The structure, built from the ground up to be a contact center, is fitted with over 200 workstations, a spacious training center and relaxing common areas. The interior and exterior have been fully renovated.
“Employees can relax and attend regular events at the Serendipity Pavilion, with stunning views that stretch from the University of Maine at Presque Isle to the airport and beyond,” said Lavin.
Adirondack chairs and shaded picnic areas make the grounds a great place for meetings or for a quiet lunch beside a landscaped garden. Soft music will fill the halls of the building’s common areas and ergonomic furniture will keep employees productive and comfortable.
“We are hiring some key management positions, but hiring in earnest will begin for us in the next 30 days or so. We will be a 24/7 operation and we will offer multiple full- and part-time shifts,” said Lavin.
Lavin said guests are scheduled to begin arriving on Friday around 10:30 a.m., with Baldacci arriving just before 11 a.m., with ceremonies to commence immediately following the governor’s arrival.
BalanceBPO is a privately-held corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas. For more information, visit www.balancebpo.com.
For more information on New York City-based TxVia, visit www.txvia.com.
