Canadian firm eyes Calais, plans 210 jobs

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CALAIS – A Canadian global market research firm plans to open its first U.S.-based outlet in this border community.

Acrobat Research, with headquarters in Toronto, plans to begin operation in January, subject to availability of a labor force, and eventually employ more than 80 full-time and 130 part-time people.

“Calais fits our business model of operations in rural areas and, we believe, provides a great location for our first site in the States,” Roland Klassen, Acrobat president, said in a press release. “There was a number of quality communities we considered and may consider again in the future, but the available site in Calais is perfect, and development leaders have been excellent in answering our questions.”

Eastern Maine Development Corp. was put in touch with Klassen in August, the release said. “As a result of our network of contacts, we connected with Mr. Klassen to discuss a rural Maine location,” John Holden, director of business development for EMDC, said in the release. After multiple locations in Maine were considered, Calais was selected.

Acrobat Research began in 1994 to provide outsourced, outbound and inbound market research data-collection services, conducting opinion polls, customer satisfaction surveys and social research.

According to its Web site, the company performs data collection services for research firms and for targeted niche market business consultants.

Acrobat gathers “any information for statistical purposes, which our clients use to improve their products and services,” the company said in its employment ad in the Bangor Daily News. “What we don’t do: telemarketing sales of any kind, or collections.”

Starting salary is $8 an hour. Those interested must apply by Wednesday, Nov. 28.

The company hopes to set up operation at the former ICT Group telemarketing call center on North Street. ICT closed its doors in 2003.

Klassen said in a telephone interview Tuesday that his company has several call centers in rural areas and that an available labor force is a basic concern.

“Anytime when you go into a community the big question is: Is there enough available work force to support a call center operation?” he said. “We are looking in the area of around 200 jobs, a combination of part- and full-time.”

To gauge the job market, Klassen said, the company was running employment ads.

“We will be able to see how many resumes and what kind of interest we get from the community,” he said. “In the meantime, we are taking all of the steps to be operational by January because I have been working with the leaders in the community and absolutely everybody I talk to tells me there should be no problem and there will be a lot of interest in our company. … We are expecting the response to be good.”

Calais City Manager Diane Barnes said Tuesday she has been in contact with the company for several weeks. She said she was pleased the company planned to locate the outlet call center in Calais and said finding good workers would not be a problem.

“The city of Calais is excited about the opportunity for Acrobat Research to open its first U.S.-based operations in Calais,” she said.

“Acrobat focused on the labor force opportunity in eastern Washington County,” said Janet Toth, business development specialist for Washington County on behalf of EMDC and the state Department of Economic and Community Development. “We believe that this firm will be pleasantly surprised by the quality and quantity of good employees it will find in our area.”

Klassen said Acrobat is not a telemarketing firm. “We do not sell, we do not telemarket, we do not do financial collections,” he said. “We operate both a business and consumer shift so we call people to ask for their opinions on things, and it is always on a strictly confidential basis. So [we do] things like political polls, customer satisfaction studies, advertising awareness, and that’s all we do.”

Klassen said there would be room for employees to advance.

“We strongly feel that it is important for everybody to know the business, which means starting from the ground up,” he said, adding that he had started at the basic levels himself.

“But there are obviously a lot of opportunities for advancement to supervision, for client contact, general manager, for data processing, for tech support. … There are a number of possibilities and we believe in promoting from within,” Klassen said.

Harold Clossey, spokesman for the Sunrise County Economic Council, said his organization “is excited that Acrobat recognizes Washington County as a viable location for business. Their company philosophy of being part of the community is both refreshing and important as a successful business model. We look forward to a long-term working relationship with Acrobat.”

The state’s Pine Tree Development Zone program also played a role in Acrobat’s decision to locate in Maine, according to the press release.

“Pine Tree Zone incentives helped us compete with upstate New York,” said Holden of EMDC.

Linda Corey, executive director of the St. Croix Valley Chamber of Commerce, said her agency stood ready to help. “Whatever assistance they need – information, anything we can do – we will,” she said.

And the company has the support of local business leaders.

“I think any company that would employ 80 people full time and 130 people part time is wonderful,” Calais business owner Nancy Gillis said Tuesday.

Businesswoman Jane Johnston said a new business would help everybody. “They [employees] are eating out in local restaurants and supporting local businesses. It helps us all. It stimulates the economy, and everybody has a little more to spend,” she said.

The city has taken it on the chin in recent months with the rejection by voters last week of a multimillion-dollar Passamaquoddy-owned casino, racetrack, hotel and convention center that would have employed more than 200 people.

Earlier this year, the area suffered another blow when Montreal-based Domtar Inc. announced it was closing its paper mill, throwing 150 area residents out of work.