By Winthrop Quigley
Journal Staff Writer
A Utah-based customer support company Wednesday officially leased 15,000 square feet in Downtown Albuquerque where it will employ 75 people by November.
Sento Corp. expects to employ 150 people in Albuquerque within six months and as many as 800 within three years. The company plans to provide telephone and online support to Spanish-speaking customers from around the country.
Most of the staff will be hired in New Mexico, company president Patrick F. O'Neal said at a news conference at the Compass Bank Building on Marquette and Fifth NW, where Sento will set up shop.
Gov. Bill Richardson, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez and Lt. Gov. Diane Denish attended the announcement.
Sento expects to pay an average of $10.50 an hour, plus health and education benefits, O'Neal said. It hopes to qualify for state job training subsidies, he said.
Sento provides technical and customer support to companies that prefer to outsource those functions. Among Sento's first Albuquerque customers are computer security software vendor McAfee Inc. and Overstock.com Inc., an online shopping Web site, O'Neal said. Customers of those companies who prefer to get help from Spanish speakers will be routed to Sento's Albuquerque operation when they can get phone support or ask for online help, he said.
"They don't speak Spanish in India," O'Neal said. "These jobs will stay on shore. They are meant to stay on shore."
The company will invest between $1 million and $1.5 million in its Compass Bank space immediately. Compass Bank owner Centurion Pacific LLC will spend between $12 and $15 a square foot to prepare the space for occupancy, said Aaron Hazelrigg, Centurion Pacific president.
Sento considered 32 other cities, including Denver, Phoenix and Tucson, before settling on Albuquerque, O'Neal said. "I'm here to tell you, the hospitality and support we got in New Mexico and Albuquerque is why we are here today," he said.
The company was founded in 1986 and is publicly traded. It operates support centers in Utah, Wyoming, North Carolina, the Netherlands and France.
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