August 4, 1997
(Industry, Trade and Technology)

NETWORK Newfoundland & Labrador lands call centre

NETWORK Newfoundland & Labrador, a joint venture between the province and NewTel Enterprises Limited, has landed its first major call centre from outside the province. St. John's has been chosen as the site for a new telemarketing call centre scheduled to open shortly after Labour Day. The centre is projected to create 160 full-time jobs.

The new centre will be the nation-wide telemarketing operation for the BPS Imaging Partnership that operates the Bay Portrait Studios. The BPS Imaging Partnership is a Canadian partnership that has been granted the licence to operate portrait studios in selected Hudson Bay stores across Canada. The Bay Portrait Studios provides a high quality portrait photography service in 60 Bay store locations across the country. The company is looking to expand its customer base and customer service capabilities and it is turning to St. John's to help it achieve these goals.

The announcement was made by Premier Tobin today in St. John's. He was joined by Bob Newell, Vice President of Business Development, NewTel Enterprises Limited; Glen Seymour, Director of NETWORK Newfoundland & Labrador, and Judy Foote, Minister of Industry, Trade and Technology.

Premier Tobin said he was elated with the decision by the BPS Imaging Partnership to establish call centre operations in Newfoundland. He said: "This will provide a healthy boost to the provincial economy in the next few months. Our research tells us that the spin-off effect of this business will have a significant positive impact, beginning in September. Over the first three years, the provincial economy will be strengthened by almost $9 million."

The BPS Imaging Partnership sees St. John's as the ideal location for its call centre. "We are very excited to be opening our call centre in St. John's. The community and the province have worked hard to show us that this is the place we want to be. The Bay Portrait Studios has a reputation for innovation and excellence. We believe we've found a match for this here in St. John's," says company spokesperson Peter Scarth.

Mr. Newell said: "The hard work that NETWORK Newfoundland & Labrador has been doing over the past couple of years is beginning to show results. NewTel strongly believed in this partnership with government right from the beginning. We knew that capitalizing on a competitive environment and our advanced telecommunications infrastructure would enable us to pursue and capture some of the call centre work that's out there.

"This decision demonstrates that Newfoundland and Labrador is an ideal location for call centres. We are very pleased to have played a role in attracting the BPS Imaging Partnership to the province and we are confident that this project will serve as a testimonial of Newfoundland and Labrador's call centre capabilities. We are also confident that this success will pave the way for more call centre business," Seymour said.

A joint venture formed between the province and NewTel Enterprises Limited in June of 1995, NETWORK Newfoundland & Labrador was established primarily to pursue call centre and applied telecommunications opportunities in the global marketplace.

Contact: John Doody, Director of Communications, Industry, Trade and Technology, (709) 729-0050; Harry Connors, Manager of Corporate Communications, NewTel Communications, (709) 739-2837; or Peter Scarth of BPS Imaging Partnership, (905) 856-4474.