BPO ‘in it for the long haul’
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
TOURING BPO — Sen. Susan Collins recently toured BalanceBPO Inc. at 18 Green Hill Drive in Presque Isle, meeting with officials to discuss the company’s plans. Pictured from left are: Collins’ State Office Representative Phil Bosse; Sen. Susan Collins; Don Zillman, president, University of Maine at Presque Isle; Bob Dorsey, president, Aroostook Partnership for Progress; Tim Lavin, BalanceBPO president and CEO; and Rep. Mike Willette, who also services on BPO’s Board of Directors.
By Kathy McCarty
PRESQUE ISLE — Sen. Susan Collins recently visited with officials at BalanceBPO Inc., located at 18 Greenhill Drive in Presque Isle, touring the facility and learning what the business and its site partner, TxVia, have been up to lately. Joining Collins were Phil Bosse, Collins’ state office representative; Tim Lavin, BalanceBPO president and CEO; University of Maine at Presque Isle President Don Zillman; Bob Dorsey, president of Aroostook Partnership for Progress; and Rep. Michael Willette, who also services on BPO’s Board of Directors.
“Our partner, TxVia, has been acquired by Google. We’re excited to have Google’s presence in the County,” said Lavin, noting TxVia officials recently made the announcement.
Anil Aggarwal, past chairman and CEO at TxVia and currently global head of payments business development at Google, said in a statement, “For more than five years, TxVia has been delivering groundbreaking processing solutions to enable new and increasingly complex forms of payment. We’re delighted to announce that as of April 2, we are continuing that mission at Google.”
“Success in payments requires not only innovative technology and operational excellence but also broad collaboration. As part of Google, we look forward to expanding our partnerships with both the payments industry and a wide variety of other organizations that are pioneering a new era of commerce,” continued Aggarwal.
Lavin, a Presque Isle native, told Collins it was the County work ethic that lured him to bring his business here.
“I’m delighted with the quality of labor in Presque Isle,” Lavin said. “Mike (Willette) alerted me to the availability of the facility. TxVia needed space and were equally excited about the facility and the quality of labor.”
Lavin said he received a warm welcome when he opened for business.
“A lot of effort was put into making us feel at home. We received assistance from the governor (Gov. John Baldacci), the university and the community. (The support) has resonated with us,” said Lavin.
Collins asked about the link between the business and UMPI and how the two are working together to meet the company’s needs. Zillman said the university is working to meet BPO’s business needs, with a program currently in place to help train staff.
Dorsey said it’s no longer true that people “have to leave the County to get a good job.”
Lavin said the business has evolved over the past two years.
“Our core process is resolving customer issues for Fortune 500 clientele on a first-call basis,” said Lavin. “It’s the inability to resolve calls on the first attempt — major companies like Dell and others have no process to resolve issues on the first attempt. We find the errors, fix the trends.”
Lavin said his company has a patent pending that will help clients in the future.
Having grown up in the County, Lavin knows firsthand the pride people here take in the work they do. It’s that drive and commitment that brought him back to establish a business in Presque Isle.
“I want to capitalize on the vision I had of coming to northern Maine and putting that County work ethic to good use,” said Lavin.
According to Lavin, staff at BPO’s Presque Isle office listen to calls here and do analysis work for client companies.
“We’re in the final stages of software development that will help us better serve our clients,” said Lavin.
“This is a great example of information technology in a global economy,” said Dorsey.
Collins said she was pleased, given that BPO could have opened a site anywhere, the company chose to do so in Aroostook.
“I’m just delighted you have this in the County. A company like this could be anywhere,” said Collins. “This is exactly the kind of business we want in Presque Isle.”
Lavin said the last year has been spent “developing our process, getting a patent and preparing for roll-out.”
“We anticipate about nine call center jobs, with project management training and business development,” said Lavin.
“We’re very excited that Google is in Presque Isle. The possibilities for the future are endless,” said Lavin. “BPO is committed to Presque Isle for the long haul.”
