Cooperative effort will add a total of 215 new jobs by 2013

NEW ALBANY, IN – (February 4, 2011) – One Southern Indiana is pleased to announce the retention and expansion of two Southern Indiana companies made possible by a collaboration with three local municipalities. Upon final approval of a pending incentive package, ACCENT Marketing Services, LLC will join Kemper Foods International in its plans to stay and grow in Southern Indiana.

ACCENT’s plans include the addition of up to 175 new jobs by 2013 at a new, state-of-the-art Southern Indiana customer engagement center in Jeffersonville along Veterans Parkway. The plans also include the retention of more than 400 current contact center jobs. The company is moving customer engagement operations from its current New Albany location to a new facility on Veterans Parkway in Jeffersonville, which is expected to be completed next spring. The move will allow Kemper Foods International to accommodate its New Albany growth plans onsite.

Additionally, ACCENT is expanding its corporate offices on Missouri Avenue in Clarksville retaining 75 current jobs and creating the opportunity to hire up to 40 new positions. In total, ACCENT will invest more than $4.5 million between the two properties to lease, relocate and add additional technology and equipment. Kemper Foods International will later fully occupy the New Albany facility vacated by ACCENT Marketing Services, where they currently operate in a smaller space.

Founded in 1993, ACCENT provides customer engagement solutions across phone, online and social media channels on behalf of Fortune 1000 clients in industries including telecommunications, cable, manufacturing, retail, and insurance, among others. The company plans to hire additional customer engagement specialists based on projected growth from existing and future clients as operations are shifted to the new engagement center. All existing employees will be relocated to the new facility. The Clarksville-based company employs approximately 2,000 customer engagement specialists across eleven locations in the United States, Jamaica and the Philippines.

“ACCENT was presented with a unique opportunity to build a new, state-of-the-art customer engagement center, which would accommodate future client growth and expansion while also providing an employee-friendly workplace to attract and retain the best talent,” said Linda Ruffenach, ACCENT’s president of engagement management. “With four locations, including our corporate headquarters, and more than 750 people already employed in Indiana, the State along with the cities of New Albany and Jeffersonville as well as One Southern Indiana have once again partnered with ACCENT to ensure we have the resources we need to continue growing while putting our mark on this community as a symbol of excellence and success.”

“Once everything is finalized, we will not only celebrate the growth of these businesses but the retention of them as well,” said Michael Dalby, One Southern Indiana president & CEO. “Companies are courted by competing communities all the time, so we can’t take one business or one job for granted. We commend the state, the City of Jeffersonville, the City of New Albany, and the Town of Clarksville for working creatively and in harmony to accommodate and encourage these companies to stay and grow in southern Indiana. This is regionalism at its best.”

“This shows what can be accomplished when we work together,” said New Albany Mayor Doug England. “New Albany, Jeffersonville, and Clarksville – we’ll all get new jobs and new capital as a result of working in unison and finalizing these details. Most importantly, every existing job will stay in our region. I thank One Southern Indiana for taking the lead and working with the state and the administrations of all the municipalities to put this all together.”

Through the coordination of One Southern Indiana, ACCENT Marketing Services officials will appear before the Jeffersonville Redevelopment Commission on February 9 at 5:30 p.m., which will determine the company’s eligibility to request local tax incentives at the Jeffersonville City Council meeting on February 28.

“What a great way to begin 2011,” said Jeffersonville Mayor Tom Galligan. “If we finalize these projects, this is a win-win for everyone – the companies win, the community wins and the employees win. By working collaboratively, we won’t lose one single job to another state and we’ll keep these growing businesses right here in Southern Indiana.”

“We are thrilled with ACCENT’s decision to stay and grow their executive offices here,” said Clarksville Town Board President Greg Isgrigg. “This project had a lot of moving parts and involved multiple municipalities and entities. We are happy everyone came together and worked toward the same goal. The entire community will reap the benefits of retaining and growing these businesses.”

“As these companies invest further in their Southeast Indiana operations, we’re pleased that they continue to see Indiana as viable location to grow their business,” said Mitch Roob, Secretary of Commerce and chief executive officer of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. “The cooperation of multiple municipalities and economic development groups was key in securing this new investment for our state.”

About One Southern Indiana:
One Southern Indiana is a business advancement organization dedicated to supporting entrepreneurship, existing business growth, and attracting new enterprises to the Southern Indiana/Greater Louisville region. Representing more than 1,200 businesses, One Southern Indiana provides its clients with business intelligence, advocacy, and connections solutions in support of regional business innovation. Since its creation in July 2006, One Southern Indiana’s economic development efforts have resulted in commitments for approximately 6,396 net new jobs in Clark and Floyd Counties. A total of 76 attraction and expansion projects have contributed more than $346 million in new initial capital and over $222 million in new annual payroll to Southern Indiana. To learn more, please visit www.1si.org.

About ACCENT Marketing Services LLC
ACCENT, a member of the MDC Partners Network, is the performance marketing company for marketers who need to maximize their brand’s ability to engage with consumers and influence behavior, while generating a better return on their investment. The company’s data-driven approach transforms customer service touchpoints across the phone, online and social media channels into powerful relationship and brand-building tools. Founded in 1993, ACCENT employs nearly 2,000 people across the United States, Jamaica and the Philippines. For more information, visit www.accentonline.com.

Local Municipalities Work Together to Retain and Grow… Press Release (pdf)

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Ginger Cloud (for One Southern Indiana), 502-550-7802, Ginger@Distinctive-Marketing.com
Kelly Hilton (ACCENT Marketing) – 812.206.6215 or khilton@accentonline.com
Blair West (IEDC) – 317.232.8873 or BWest@iedc.in.gov

Tags: Customer Engagement, Employee Engagement, Jobs, Multichannel, Social Media