HOULTON – In January, a Portland-based company announced plans to expand its operations to include a virtual call center in southern Aroostook County.

A little more than two months later, the company has successfully secured the 20 people it initially expected to hire during the start-up phase of the operation.

Now it wants more.

Stewart Staffing is already looking to add more employees to its southern Aroostook operation, Jon McLaughlin, executive director of the Southern Aroostook Development Corp., said Friday.

Stewart Staffing is a center for incoming and outgoing calls that specializes in direct marketing. Employees at the virtual call center in southern Aroostook do not drive to a building to punch a time clock – they work out of their homes on a commission-only basis.

Company officials said in January that they expected to employ at least 20 people in the start-up phase of its operation.

Now, McLaughlin explained, the company is set to move ahead with a plan to bring more people on board.

McLaughlin is the driving force behind the day-to-day operations at SADC, a grass-roots organization that has worked for the past eight years to boost the economic base of the region.

He has been assisting company officials with the process of becoming established in Houlton.

McLaughlin said in a press release that John Stewart, the president of Stewart Staffing, is pleased with the employees who have been hired during the first phase of the process.

“As a result,” McLaughlin explained, “the company will soon be doing recruitment for additional employees.”

Stewart Staffing eventually hopes to have 100 representatives working from their homes, and McLaughlin said that would be a “a big boost to the southern Aroostook region.”

With its flexible schedules, the virtual call center is a good opportunity for people who need to work around commitments such as school or child care, McLaughlin said.

For more information, contact Emily Putnam at 772-4218 or

e-mail her at emily@stewart-staffing.com.