REGINA CALL CENTRE CELEBRATES GRAND OPENING

Released on July 30, 2003

An international company that manages business processes for other firms is celebrating the grand opening of its Regina location today.

StarTek, Inc.'s technical support call centre is located on the 3rd floor of downtown Regina's Cornwall Centre. The company currently employs more than 650 full-time employees and intends to hire another 100 to 150 in coming months.

"StarTek's presence in Saskatchewan is an expression of confidence in our province, our economy and our wide open future," Industry and Resources Minister Eric Cline said. "It's satisfying to see yet another success in a sector - call centres - that we have worked so hard to build."

The company has an estimated annual payroll of $17 million. Many downtown businesses will benefit either directly or indirectly from the company's operations.

"We are delighted to be part of the Regina business community," StarTek CEO William Meade said. "The decision to locate to Saskatchewan was based on several factors, including the number of potential employees, the concentration and level of education in the workforce, and the fact that the province had such a solid telecommunications structure in place and available to us."

"StarTek's grand opening is proof that Regina is becoming recognized for its expertise in call centre operations, the training of call centre workers, and the technology needed to make a call centre successful," Regina Mayor Pat Fiacco said. "It's a great boost to our economy and our downtown revitalization."

"StarTek is already having a positive impact on downtown's economy," Paul Bourassa, Chair of Regina Downtown said. "Not only is it occupying a significant amount of downtown office space, but it has also brought hundreds of new employees to the city's centre."

The province offered StarTek an incentive package to encourage the company to set up operations in Saskatchewan. It included providing $750,000 from the Strategic Investment Fund to go toward all eligible costs for establishing a training lab, and $1.04 million over three years from the JobStart/Future Skills Program to help train staff.

StarTek, Inc. is based in Denver, Colorado. It is a leading global provider of business process outsourcing services and has 17 facilities, including four in Canada. The company's clients are in the software, telecommunications, consumer products, cable, Internet, E-commerce, and technology industries.

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For More Information, Contact:

Bob Ellis Industry and Resources Regina Phone: (306)787-8277