Call center creates over 80 new jobs

Acrobat Research of Toronto has officially decided to locate in Calais, and the proposed opening date for the call center is Monday, January 21.

"We're very happy to have Acrobat Research come to Calais," says Calais Assistant City Manager Jim Porter of the company, which collects market research data. "They'll be hiring 80 full-time and many part-time positions. The interview process is under way, and they'll be doing second level interviews in early January."

Acrobat Research received over 230 applications during the preliminary hiring process.

Company President Roland Klassen notes that the firm is "on the verge of signing a lease" to locate in the former Wareknitters building on the corner of North and Union streets. "We are just in the legal stage of reviewing contracts."

He adds that the proposed start day is subject to "all the stars aligning, but I am confident that we will be operational very early in the new year."

Calais was one of several sites considered by Acrobat Research, which had not yet opened a branch in the United States. "Quite a few of their clients are American, and they want a presence here," said Porter in November. "And of all the sites, they liked ours best."

Acrobat Research was established in 1994 and advertises itself as a company that does not do telemarketing of any kind. Instead, the firm conducts opinion polling, customer satisfaction surveys, social research and other information for statistical purposes.