ROCKFORD, IL—Although this city retains a hefty bit of industry, especially in aerospace and logistics, over the last few decades it did lose thousands of jobs, leaving behind a highly-trained workforce looking for employment. The deep labor pool, however, has recently attracted other companies including many that run call centers. And the outsourcing company APAC Customer Services Inc. has just renewed a 73,757-square-foot lease for its call center at 7180 Spring Brook Rd. in Rockford, illustrating the continuing appeal the city has for this sector.
APAC, the Bannockburn, IL-based subsidiary of EGS Inc. Co., did look at a variety of alternative locations in Rockford, other Illinois cities and even out of state, according to officials from JLL, who helped negotiate the lease, but decided to stick with Rockford due to what it saw as a strong call center labor force and comparatively low rental rates.
“We seem to have become a hub for this type of activity, partly because the city has a readily available supply of labor,” Mike Nicholas, president of the Rockford Area Economic Development Council, tells GlobeSt.com. The area also has a highly-developed fiber optic system, which also aids businesses like APAC with an extremely high volume of calls. “And the city has very low power rates compared to other neighboring towns; and we do have spaces available.”
Furthermore, he adds, Rasmussen College, a for-profit private college has a campus in Rockford and runs a training course on call centers. Therefore, not only does the city have an available workforce, it “has a skilled labor force that potential employers can draw from.”
JLL vice president Henry Lee and managing director Dan McCarthy represented APAC in the negotiations.
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
