AUBURN — TD Bank expects to hire 250 more workers for its newest call center that formally opened Friday at the Auburn Mall.
The 250 workers taking calls Friday had moved recently to their new digs from their old offices at the Bates Mill Enterprise Complex and the Sparetime Office Park, both in Lewiston. Officials said Friday they plan to double that number in 2011.
The state-of-the-art, 60,000-square-foot facility in the former Porteous space is divided into quadrants, each color-coded and dotted with computer-equipped work stations. Workers take incoming calls from customers needing assistance.
With the lagging economy at 8 percent unemployment in Maine and nearly 10 percent nationally, speakers at the ribbon-cutting Friday, including the state’s governor and two U.S. senators, cheered the announcement of new jobs coming to Maine.
TD Bank will have nearly 3,000 workers in Maine by next year, with more than one-third working in the Twin Cities. They’ll field roughly 25,000 calls a day, seven days a week.
Although the banking industry has been under siege and most banks clamped down on lending, TD Bank actually increased lending, said Bharat Masrani, president and CEO of TD Bank. The bank continues to be strong, he said, noting it is one of only three listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a triple-A rating. It is one of the 15 largest commercial banks in the country.
“We have the capital and desire to grow here in Maine,” Masrani said. The opening of the call center is a reflection of the growth of the bank’s customer base, he said.
“TD Bank has strong ties in Maine and we are committed to strengthening our presence here even more,” he said.
In keeping with its green-lettered logo, the bank’s new call center is carbon neutral, employing cutting-edge techniques for reducing its reliance on carbon fuels. The center is seeking LEED Gold certification for its environment-friendly efforts by:
* choosing a location that encourages bicycle commuting and use of public transportation;
* landscaping with drought-tolerant plants;
* installing plumbing fixtures that use 33 percent less water than conventional fixtures;
* using recycled and regionally manufactured materials, such as Maine granite and Thomas Moser furniture;
* building a 40- by 40-foot skylight in the middle of the office that reduces the need for electricity;
* installing motion sensors to turn off lights when rooms are vacant; and
* using only “green” power sources.
Spreading its green around, the bank on Friday presented St. Mary’s Food Pantry with a check for $5,000.
The call center will host an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, complete with refreshments.
TD Bank’s new call center
By the numbers
* 9 tons: Weight of boulder featured as centerpiece in the office
* 250: Number of current workers
* 500: Number of workers expected in 2011
* 33: Percentage of water that should be saved by its new plumbing
* 40: Number of homes that could be serviced by the amount of power saved by the center’s new electrical design
* 95: Percentage of demolition materials recycled from the former structure that now houses the call center
Source: TD Bank
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- Colorful murals of Maine scenes decorate the wall around the work stations at the new TD Bank call center. The new call center located at the Auburn Mall celebrated its grand opening on Friday.
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- TD Bank customer service representative Rose County shows U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, the workings of the bank’s new call center during the grand opening Friday at the Auburn Mall.
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- Paul Nye, a building designer for TD Bank, shows Celia Moncholi, a member of the bank’s management team, the 9-ton granite boulder in the hub of the operations center during the grand opening on Friday. The bank’s new call center is located at the Auburn Mall.
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- A TD Bank employee walks down the ramp of the new call center operations hub, which features a 40-square-foot skylight. The new TD Bank call center at the Auburn Mall celebrated its grand opening on Friday.
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- TD Bank building designer Paul Nye shows the colorful environmental-themed mural at the entrance to the employee cafe. The new call center at the Auburn Mall celebrated its grand opening on Friday.
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- Visitors at the new TD Bank call center sit in the employee cafe. The new call center at the Auburn Mall celebrated its grand opening on Friday.
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