New company bringing 100 jobs back to Convergys building

Interviews to commence Wednesday

Operations at Convergys are ending, but a new company from Toronto is setting up shop and bringing 100 jobs back to the same Welland building in the new year.

In October, it was announced that the call centre on Lincoln Street would be hanging up for the last time on Dec. 8 after 16 years of employing Niagara residents.

This prompted Kanetix Ltd., which claims to be Canada’s largest digital acquisition platform for insurance and financial services, to phone Welland city hall and begin working with the municipality on acquiring the site.

“We are delighted to announce our expansion into Welland,” said Igal Mayer, president and chief executive officer of the company.

“Kanetix helps millions of Canadians compare financial products each year and we are eager for the Welland community to learn more about the company. We plan on being a long-term partner in the region and will be creating hundreds of jobs over the next few years,” he said.

Interviews are scheduled to begin Wednesday. Interested candidates are encouraged to register at the Welland Job Gym.

Mayer said Welland is “truly the perfect fit” for the company’s expansion and that local officials have been very receptive of the company setting up shop in the city.

Mayor Frank Campion said he is pleased Kanetix has chosen to locate in Welland.

“During our discussions with them several weeks ago I was very impressed with Kanetix’s business model, which provides amazing employment opportunities,” he said.

In an interview Sunday, Campion said meetings started between the city, the owner of the property, and Kanetix immediately after Convergys announced its closure.

He also said the new company also appears to be invested in a long-term stay in Welland with expectations to expand in the future, providing “non-typical call centre jobs.”

Janine White, vice-president of marketplaces and strategy development for Kanetix, said wages will be “competitive in the area.”

She said Niagara’s francophone population was a draw for the company, as many of its services provided are in French.

Some of the immediate roles Kanetix will be recruiting for include customer service ambassadors, service brokers, sales brokers, team leads, trainers, human resources positions, as well as various types of managers.