Job seekers in Albuquerque, N.M., got a leg up this week as the Canon (News - Alert) company’s Information Technology Services branch announced its new call center was open, with 30 people already on the job.
“I’m thrilled to say we opened on June 2,” Jay Lucado, director for customer support at company headquarters in Virginia, told the Albuquerque Journal.
Canon Information Technology Services, Inc. is the support company for Canon products sold in the United States. It employs more than 500 people, and according to the company, provides “industry-leading support to end user and business customers on pre-sales, sales and post-sales related inquiries.” Canon ITS is a subsidiary of Canon U.S.A., Inc., located in Melville, N.Y.
The company plans to hire 30 more people by year’s end, and another 75 in 2015 as it ramps up to 150 employees, Lucado said. He was a guest speaker at the Albuquerque Economic Development‘s (AED) quarterly luncheon on June 19.
The Canon subsidiary announced plans last fall to open a 34,000-square-foot call center in the north I-25 industrial corridor of Albuquerque to provide technical support to customers for products such as digital cameras, camcorders and printers. AED helped recruit the company to Albuquerque, and has provided ongoing support to set up operations.
Canon has been moving rapidly in its efforts. The company announced construction of the new call center in October and began the hiring process in January. While it missed its initial hoped-for target of April, it has been moving forward at a steady clip. The state, city and county each pledged $200,000 as part of an incentive package to get Canon to Albuquerque.
“One of the things we really liked here with this area is the fact there is a presence for the film industry, Canon President Doris Higginbotham told the Journal last fall. “The community embraces the arts and photography and digital media, so it really was the best fit for us in terms of growing our business.”
Edited by Maurice Nagle