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December 5th, 2004, 06:41 PM
Cruise business buys call center in North Dakota
Friday, December 3, 2004 · Last updated 1:50 p.m. PT
By BLAKE NICHOLSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
BISMARCK, N.D. -- An international cruise business has bought a call center in Williston for $1.2 million, in a deal Gov. John Hoeven says shows the merits of a program that recruits former North Dakotans.
Seattle-based Holland America Line Inc. has a fleet of 12 ships that offer nearly 500 cruises worldwide from 27 ports. The Williston center will take reservations for the line, starting Jan. 3.
The center was owned by the American Express Travel Related Services Co. Employees are being given the opportunity to take a monthlong training program, and those who successfully complete it will be offered jobs at their current salary, the cruise company said Friday.
The center had 28 employees under American Express. It now will have 34, including a manager and a quality control official who will move from Seattle, said company chairman A. Kirk Lanterman. The manager, Kathy Daves, is an Enderlin native.
Lanterman said the center expects to add 15 employees in March, and some day might fill the building's capacity of 200 employees.
"We are excited for this opportunity for local employees to find good, reliable employment with an industry leader," Williston Mayor Ward Koeser said.
Lanterman grew up in Bismarck, attended the University of North Dakota and served in Korea with the state National Guard before settling in Seattle. He said Holland America has been looking to open a reservation center outside of Washington, and considered three other sites around the nation.
"The ability to take over an existing center, along with a stable, trained work force, made this opportunity very attractive," he said.
"Certainly I have a high regard for the North Dakota people," Lanterman said. "I know the work ethic, and the consistency and the quality."
Hoeven said Lanterman was recruited for the state Commerce Department's "ambassadors" program last year when he attended UND's homecoming. The program enlists former state residents to talk up the state's attributes, but Lanterman eventually decided to go further, Hoeven said.
"He has a solid commitment to his North Dakota roots and is now investing in our state through his business," the governor said.
American Express also bought centers in Dickinson and Linton from Philadelphia-based Rosenbluth International last year.
Tom Wilson, an American Express manager, said the company has worked with Holland America in the past and knew it wanted to open a reservation center. He said American Express is devoting more resources to its online business, housed in Dickinson.
That center has grown from 147 employees to 216, and the company is recruiting another 47 workers, Wilson said.
American Express "is committed to North Dakota and looks forward to ongoing operations in the state," said Steve Power, a senior vice president.
The state is giving Holland America $300,000 for the building purchase, job training and new equipment to link the center with Seattle, Hoeven said. The state is getting back the $300,000 it invested in the center during the Rosenbluth era, he said.
Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., who helped persuade Hal Rosenbluth to locate call centers in North Dakota in the late 1980s, said Holland America is a company with an excellent reputation, and one of the few tourism companies that did not lay off workers after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Friday, December 3, 2004 · Last updated 1:50 p.m. PT
By BLAKE NICHOLSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
BISMARCK, N.D. -- An international cruise business has bought a call center in Williston for $1.2 million, in a deal Gov. John Hoeven says shows the merits of a program that recruits former North Dakotans.
Seattle-based Holland America Line Inc. has a fleet of 12 ships that offer nearly 500 cruises worldwide from 27 ports. The Williston center will take reservations for the line, starting Jan. 3.
The center was owned by the American Express Travel Related Services Co. Employees are being given the opportunity to take a monthlong training program, and those who successfully complete it will be offered jobs at their current salary, the cruise company said Friday.
The center had 28 employees under American Express. It now will have 34, including a manager and a quality control official who will move from Seattle, said company chairman A. Kirk Lanterman. The manager, Kathy Daves, is an Enderlin native.
Lanterman said the center expects to add 15 employees in March, and some day might fill the building's capacity of 200 employees.
"We are excited for this opportunity for local employees to find good, reliable employment with an industry leader," Williston Mayor Ward Koeser said.
Lanterman grew up in Bismarck, attended the University of North Dakota and served in Korea with the state National Guard before settling in Seattle. He said Holland America has been looking to open a reservation center outside of Washington, and considered three other sites around the nation.
"The ability to take over an existing center, along with a stable, trained work force, made this opportunity very attractive," he said.
"Certainly I have a high regard for the North Dakota people," Lanterman said. "I know the work ethic, and the consistency and the quality."
Hoeven said Lanterman was recruited for the state Commerce Department's "ambassadors" program last year when he attended UND's homecoming. The program enlists former state residents to talk up the state's attributes, but Lanterman eventually decided to go further, Hoeven said.
"He has a solid commitment to his North Dakota roots and is now investing in our state through his business," the governor said.
American Express also bought centers in Dickinson and Linton from Philadelphia-based Rosenbluth International last year.
Tom Wilson, an American Express manager, said the company has worked with Holland America in the past and knew it wanted to open a reservation center. He said American Express is devoting more resources to its online business, housed in Dickinson.
That center has grown from 147 employees to 216, and the company is recruiting another 47 workers, Wilson said.
American Express "is committed to North Dakota and looks forward to ongoing operations in the state," said Steve Power, a senior vice president.
The state is giving Holland America $300,000 for the building purchase, job training and new equipment to link the center with Seattle, Hoeven said. The state is getting back the $300,000 it invested in the center during the Rosenbluth era, he said.
Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., who helped persuade Hal Rosenbluth to locate call centers in North Dakota in the late 1980s, said Holland America is a company with an excellent reputation, and one of the few tourism companies that did not lay off workers after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.