StarTek plans to expand operations in the Philippines
Posted on August 1st, 2009
After opening its first service center in the country last January, business process outsourcing (BPO) firm StarTek plans to invest an additional $9 million as it expands its operation in the Philippines. Ed Mallari, StarTek managing director, said they are upbeat on the Philippines and the future of the call center industry.
Their office in Makati is their first outside of the United States and Canada. StarTek president and CEO Larry Jones said that they are pleased with their choice to locate in the Philippines and are now looking at other places in the country for their next investment site.
He said they’d like to remain in Makati but is also open for an option to locate in Cebu as well. “In the second half we will start looking at other facilities (but) we are not convinced that the province is better than Makati,†Jones said.
Details about the new site are not yet disclosed, other than that it would be located in Cebu City and that it would have a capacity of 1,000 seats.
Their Makati office is said to be StarTek’s biggest office because its offices in the United States only have a capacity of 500 seats.
The focus of StarTek’s service is North American clients. Jones said their operations are usually divided between voice and non-voice equally. But he followed that they plan to move toward voice with 70 percent and non-voice 30 percent. In the revenue aspect, Jones said they expect the Philippine operations to contribute 10 percent because their centers here will house 1,100 seats out of the 9,000 seats of StarTek.
“The complex support services we provide our clients are integral to our clients’ operations and their relationships with their customers. Our proven capability to deliver high-quality, high-value services has consistently made us the number one services provider for our clients, but more importantly among our clients’ clients,†Jones said.
