A vacant building in the Gateway computer company complex in North Sioux City — just across the border in South Dakota — will soon be the new work-site for hundreds of employees.

California-based Alorica, Incorporated will open a call center in the old Gateway building according to Corey Mencken, industrial development director for North Sioux City. “They will be opening their newest customer support, technical support center in North Sioux City,” Mencken says. “(Alorica) will be making a $1.2 million investment in our community and will be hiring upwards of a thousand employees over the next two years.”

Alorica has already begun the interview process for some management positions at the center and interviews for other openings wil begin shortly. “They are really ramping up quickly,” Mencken says.

Mencken says one of the reasons North Sioux City was chosen was because of the building that was available. Mencken says the building is basically in “move-in” condition. He also says the company believes there’s a “tremendous workforce” available because of recent lay-offs in the area at MCI.

Andy Lee, the founder and CEO of Alorica, is a former Gateway executive. Companies like Gateway, Sony and Sprint contract with Alorica to handle consumer calls.

Radio Iowa