| The MBNA Closure
Turnaround — Ramona du Houx
When Bank of
America Corp. shut down four Maine call centers as part of its $34.2 billion acquisition
from credit card giant MBNA Corp., communities were devastated. Headline news predicted
heavy, unrecoverable job losses. The losses happened, but all the affected communities
recovered within less than a year. In fact, the communities and their workers are better
off now than they were before, with sustainable-growth jobs from companies that chose
Maine in nationwide searches.
Photo: Governor Baldacci places a
call 
When Bank of
America said they couldn’t realistically keep all the MBNA facilities running, the
governor was in contact with them, and Belfast remained open.
The former MBNA
locations in Portland, Farmington, Fort Kent, and Presque Isle are all filled by new
companies with good jobs and benefits. The current Bank of America facilities along with
the sold-off facilities, now up and running, represent approximately 3,000 jobs.
"That’s a job equivalent of three mills, at least," said Jack Cashman, the
governor’s economic advisor.
Time Warner
took over the Portland facility, employing 200 people; NotifyMD moved into Farmington;
Connect North America into Presque Isle; and Synergy into Fort Kent.
"Bank of
America agreed to sell the three facilities at 40 cents on the dollar. They were
great." said Cashman. "The reduced cost made it possible for local economic
development entities to purchase the facilities, which in turn attracted companies
searching for state-of-the-art call center facilities with reasonable rents and great
workers."
FARMINGTON
— NotifyMD, Inc., based in Tennessee, selected Farmington as the site of its new
national Care Coordination Center, bringing more that 100 jobs to the area.
NotifyMD
provides after-hours messaging, business hour call management, automated patient
reminders, and patient care compliance for physicians. The company said it chose to locate
in Maine after discussing expansion opportunities with Maine & Company, a nonprofit
that promotes the state as a place to do business. Maine & Company worked alongside
the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and the Greater Franklin
Development Corporation (GFDC), who purchased the former MBNA property from Bank of
America.
"Putting
the project together was truly a team effort, with the business community, the state, and
Maine & Company," said Alison Hagerstrom of GFDC.
"This is
an exciting opportunity for the state, and we are thrilled that such a growing and
innovative company has chosen Maine, in a nationwide search, as its latest expansion
site," said Baldacci during the NotifyMD opening ceremonies.
Photo:Dr. Gary Ferguson talks about his call center
 "The governor’s philosophy towards business and
community, along with his determination, made Maine an extremely viable candidate for
NotifyMD," said NotifyMD president, Dr. Gary Ferguson.
PRESQUE ISLE
— Connect North America (CNA), a Canadian company providing customized customer
relationship management solutions, expanded into the former MBNA building in Presque Isle,
bringing 300 jobs to the area. Following the MBNA closure, Bank of America sold the
property to the Northern Maine Finance Corporation (NMFC). NMFC then worked with state
agencies and city officials to locate a suitable business in the call center market.
"This is
our first U.S. venture," said O’Donnell of CNA. "We’re excited to be
here. We anticipate injecting $4 to $5 million in wages into the local economy in a
relatively short period of time."
CNA explored
the possibility of opening a branch in Maine after they interviewed potential workers at
the local Career Center. They were impressed. The Aroostook Partnership for Progress
(APP), an organization established to enhance the economy of northern Maine, facilitated
the process.
"This
project is a perfect example of the strength of the APP team working together with the
Career Center staff to host job information sessions for the company. Because NMFC owns
the building, we were able to present the company with a very competitive and fair
proposal," said Bob Clark, president of NMFC.
FORT KENT
— "Thanks to Mr. Conklin and Synergy Solutions, 80 people in the St. John Valley
will be working full time," said Baldacci during the company’s announcement that
it would be moving into Fort Kent. "This is strong economic development for Aroostook
County, with workers who are second to none."
Synergy is a
supplier of outsourced tele-services solutions. The company has seven call centers
throughout North America.
"Employees
here are meeting and exceeding all the performance goals set for them," said Corey
Conklin of Synergy.
"Our whole
team, including local officials, worked hard to attract Synergy to Fort Kent," said
Walt Elish, the partnership’s executive director. "We had a building available,
along with a work force. Once Corey came here, a number of us, including the state, got
involved putting together a financial package to make it economically viable for them to
come here."
Following the
MBNA closure, Bank of America also sold the property to the NMFC.
"Our
advantage is in a great workforce that is loyal and wants to stay close to home,"
said Duane Walton, vice president of NMFC. "Turn-over rates for call centers are high
in most areas; not in the county."
The governor
and his rapid-response team visited each site when the closure announcements were made. He
also returned once new companies were found to welcome the new businesses to Maine.
The
governor’s determination, teamwork on a state and local basis, a trained workforce,
state-of-the-art facilities, and business assistance programs, including the PTZ program
for three of the locations, were the needed ingredients to help turn around a situation
that could have meant job and economic losses throughout the state.
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