“There is no better way to celebrate Labor Day than by creating new jobs in America,” said Mary Murcott, CEO of NOVO 1. “With the opening of our dream Michigan contact center we will be creating 300 new jobs over the next several years.”

NOVO 1 has invested in excess of $2 million in the call center with an emphasis on security, technology and commitment to the environment.

“West Michigan embodies an entrepreneurial spirit and public/private sector cooperation so vital to job creation in today’s marketplace,” added David Evans, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Glencoe Capital, LLC. “Michigan’s greatest asset and the engine of its vitally important economic recovery is the intellectual, interpersonal and initiative skills of its people, which have grown strong despite the adversity its citizens face. These qualities are what NOVO 1 saw in bringing its major operation expansion to Michigan.”

The new Holland contact center features a spacious and open design to facilitate collaboration with team leaders and agents. The center will accommodate 291 customer service representatives and 21 team lead stations. Three multi-synched training rooms feature state-of-the-art multimedia allowing for 72 training seats and 3 training instructor seats.

AT&T outfitted the facility with its telecommunications solutions, including AT&T Connect® conferencing and fully managed VPN service. The AT&T VPN solution is particularly important for NOVO 1 because it provides high levels of flexibility, reliability and security.

“Everyday, AT&T invests in its infrastructure and network to deliver stronger service and more advanced products for our customers,” said James Murray, President of AT&T Michigan. “Those investments also help promote expansion of new businesses and the creation of jobs in communities like Holland and across Michigan. We’re proud of our investments in Michigan and celebrate the opportunity to come from today’s grand opening.”

Not only does the center have state-of-the-art telecommunications equipment, but NOVO 1 also demonstrates its commitment to the environment with the center’s green features, including:
• An Active Power Rotary and UPS system .that is non-toxic, 98% efficient, with no lead acid core batteries, doesn’t require special ventilation, no spill containment required and takes up a small footprint.
• 100% recyclable and sustainable carpeting throughout the contact center. Energy Star compliant computers and monitors

In addition to its green features, security at the contact center is paramount, and NOVO 1’s Holland Contact Center has local and remote monitoring around the clock. Sensitive areas have three layers of security. There are no exposed data cables from Network Systems equipment to computers. Cables are buried in a concrete floor in under-floor conduit. Customized workstations feature a locking chase that physically secures customer service representative computers from access by agents. Only designated IT personnel have access to the computers. No CD, DVD, media or USB thumb drive intrusion is permitted. Electrical receptacles are secured so there is no uninterrupted power supply (UPS) overload.

“We’re proud to have NOVO 1 as a new member of the Chamber and West Michigan business community,” said Jane Clark, President of the Holland Area Chamber of Commerce. “Our people, location, infrastructure and spirit of cooperation make it possible for companies like this to call Holland home.

The Honorable Kurt Dykstra, Mayor of Holland added, “The City of Holland is recognized as one of the best places to live and work by Kiplinger Magazine and the Gallup organization. A pro-business environment fosters the required economic development to enhance the area’s quality of life.”

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*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

NOVO 1
Since 1987, Fort Worth, Texas-based NOVO 1, www.novo1.com, has dedicated itself to tailoring contact center solutions to support clients’ business goals in building customer relationships and growing their brands. The company delivers adaptable solutions implemented with proven processes and people for industries, such as healthcare, financial, retail, energy and logistics. Whether it’s a healthcare service, B2B logistics dispatch, or retail customer retention program, NOVO 1 provides a scalable, safe, and seamless extension to any business.

GLENCOE CAPITAL
Founded in 1993, Glencoe Capital is a private equity firm focused on lead-sponsored acquisitions and growth equity investments in lower middle-market companies. Glencoe Capital and its affiliates manage a number of private equity funds, including the Michigan Opportunities Fund and Glencoe Capital Partners III, L.P.

For more information, contact:
Jack Wilkie, NOVO 1
817-355-8909
Mobile: 515-321-5467

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Fort Worth, TX (July 19, 2010) – NOVO 1, a leading provider of inbound and outbound customer interaction solutions and a portfolio company of the Glencoe Capital Michigan Opportunities Fund, has opened a new 37,000-square-foot customer-service facility in Holland, Mich.

With the opening of the new facility, NOVO 1 will hire an additional 300 personnel over the next several years.

“The community in Holland and its surrounding area have a dynamic workforce, and the city is listed as the happiest place to live in America by Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index,” said NOVO 1 CEO Mary Murcott. “The new facility allows us to respond to new opportunities in the Midwest market while creating more jobs in the U.S.”

NOVO 1 serves hundreds of corporate clients in the healthcare, transportation, insurance, financial services, telecom, utilities, retail and publishing industries. Its new facility was opened with assistance from a $1 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). The company also has operations in Texas, Montana, Wisconsin and employs more than 1,100 customer-care specialists.

“We are extremely pleased with NOVO 1’s growth and look forward to its continued success,” said Doug Kearney, a principal with Glencoe Capital. The Michigan Opportunities Fund purchased NOVO 1 in 2009.

Glencoe Capital’s Michigan Opportunities Fund represents a groundbreaking partnership between the public and private sectors, leveraging equity capital to make lead-sponsored acquisitions and growth equity investments in companies in the State of Michigan or in businesses that want to expand operations into the State. The Fund invests in growing companies that can generate attractive returns to investors while promoting business growth and fostering job creation that together help improve the economic vitality of the State of Michigan. The Fund completed three portfolio investments in 2009 and closed one new investment in January 2010.

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About NOVO 1 Since 1987, Fort Worth, Tex.-based NOVO 1, www.novo1.com, has dedicated itself to tailoring contact center solutions to support clients’ business goals in building customer relationships and growing their brands. The company delivers adaptable solutions implemented with proven processes and people for industries, such as healthcare, financial, retail, and logistics. Whether it’s a healthcare service, B2B logistics dispatch, or a retail customer retention program, NOVO 1 provides a scalable, safe, and seamless extension to any business.

About Glencoe Capital Founded in 1993, Glencoe Capital is a private equity firm focused on lead-sponsored acquisitions and growth equity investments in lower middle-market companies. Glencoe Capital and its affiliates manage a number of private equity funds, including the Michigan Opportunities Fund and Glencoe Capital Partners III, L.P.

For more information, contact:
Jack Wilkie, NOVO 1
(817) 355-8909

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Marianne Udow-Phillips, Leslie Viegas Bring Expertise, Insight from Blue Cross; University of Michigan Healthcare

FORT WORTH, TX (March 23, 2010) – NOVO 1, Inc., a leading provider of customer contact center solutions, announces the election of Marianne Udow-Phillips and Leslie A. Viegas, both respected leaders in the healthcare industry, to the company’s operating board of directors.

Marianne Udow-Phillips is director of the Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation, a nonprofit partnership of the University of Michigan and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) with the mission to promote evidence-based care delivery, improve population health, and expand access to care. Previously, she was appointed as director of Michigan’s Department of Human Services by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, serving from 2004 to 2007.

Before her appointment by Michigan’s Governor, Udow-Phillips served in a succession of leadership roles in a twenty-year career at BCBSM, most recently as senior vice president of health care products and provider services. She also served as senior vice president and vice president of plans and operations for Mercy Alternative and Care Choices.

Leslie A. Viegas brings to Novo 1 extensive business and industry experience earned in an exemplary 37-year career in health insurance, property and casualty insurance, auto travel services, technology and management consulting. Most recently, until his retirement in 2008, Viegas was executive vice president of operations at BCBSM, where he served in a succession of positions of increasing responsibility during seventeen years with this $24 billion health care insurance company that insures over 4.3 million people in Michigan. His responsibilities included operations, automotive and national business, federal business, marketing/product development, business intelligence and information technology.

Prior to joining BCBSM, Viegas was a Vice President with AAA Michigan in Dearborn from 1984-1990, where his responsibilities included customer servicing, information technology, emergency road service and insurance processing. In addition, he was the Corporate Secretary of the organization. Before that, he was a partner in the management consulting division at Arthur Young & Co., in Detroit

NOVO 1, a leading provider of inbound and outbound customer interaction solutions to clients in several industries., is a portfolio company in the Michigan Opportunities Fund, managed by Birmingham, Mich.-based Glencoe Capital. With revenues of $43 million in 2008, the company ranked as the 25th-largest inbound services provider in the domestic US in 2008, according to Customer Inter@ction Solutions magazine.

“Leslie Viegas and Marianne Udow-Phillips each bring unparalleled industry experience as well as deep operational expertise to NOVO 1,” said David Evans, Chairman of the Michigan-focused investment fund. “All of us at the Michigan Opportunities Fund as well as the management team welcome Mr. Viegas and Ms. Udow-Phillips’s participation in guiding NOVO 1’s future growth.”

“We are thrilled to have both Marianne and Leslie join NOVO 1’s board of directors,” said Mary Murcott, CEO, NOVO 1. “The healthcare industry is a key focus for us and their diversified knowledge and hands-on insight will be of tremendous value to us as we navigate this market.”

ABOUT NOVO 1
Since 1987, Fort Worth-based NOVO 1, www.novo1.com, has dedicated itself to tailoring contact center solutions to support clients’ business goals in building customer relationships and growing their brands. The company delivers adaptable solutions implemented with proven processes and people for industries, such as healthcare, financial, retail, and logistics. Whether it’s a healthcare service, B2B logistics dispatch, or a retail customer retention program, NOVO 1 provides a scalable, safe, and seamless extension to any business.

ABOUT Glencoe Capital
Founded in 1993, Glencoe Capital is a private equity firm focused on lead-sponsored acquisitions and growth equity investments in lower middle-market companies. Glencoe Capital and its affiliates manage a number of private equity funds, including the Michigan Opportunities Fund and Glencoe Capital Partners III, L.P. The firm has over $1 billion under management.

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Post tags: Contact center, Fort Worth, Leslie Viegas, Marianne Udow-Phillips, NOVO 1

Acquisition Reflects NOVO 1’s Fast Business Growth; Commitment to Customer Care and Contact Center Expansion

FORT WORTH, TX (March 9, 2010) — NOVO 1, a leading provider of customer contact solutions, has been acquired by Glencoe Capital’s Michigan Opportunities Fund. The fund, managed by Glencoe Capital, a private equity firm focused on lead-sponsored acquisitions and growth equity investments in lower middle-market companies, focuses on such businesses that have the prospect to expand business operations in the state of Michigan or are actually located there. NOVO 1 plans to open a customer care and contact center in western Michigan this year that will employ more than 300 personnel.

The Michigan Opportunities Fund acquired NOVO 1’s inbound telephone customer service business and certain other assets of the company. With revenues of $43 million, NOVO 1 currently has six contact centers throughout the US, including Texas, Montana, and Wisconsin, with its new headquarters located in Fort Worth, TX. The company has more than 400 corporate clients and employs more than 1,100 customer-care specialists for diversified industries that range from healthcare to retail.

“Our investment in NOVO 1 continues the Michigan Opportunities Fund’s strategy to invest in growing companies that can generate attractive returns to our investors, while promoting business growth and fostering job creation that together help improve the economic vitality of the State of Michigan,” said David S. Evans, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer, Glencoe Capital.

Jason Duzan, Managing Director, Glencoe Capital’s Michigan Opportunities Fund, stated, “With NOVO 1, Glencoe Capital is supporting a growing business that has a solid operating platform, a management team that averages 15 years with the company, and a history of success.”

Formed in 2000, the company will continue to operate under the NOVO 1 brand name and will be managed by its current management team.

“NOVO 1 is on an exciting and targeted course to multiply its growth in the next several years,” said Mary Murcott, CEO, NOVO 1. “As Glencoe understands our core business and is highly successful in its market reach, we will be poised with their support to leverage opportunities that will allow us to expand regionally and nationwide.”

ABOUT NOVO 1
Since 1987, Fort Worth-based NOVO 1, www.novo1.com, has dedicated itself to tailoring contact center solutions to support clients’ business goals in building customer relationships and growing their brands. The company delivers adaptable solutions implemented with proven processes and people for industries, such as healthcare, financial, retail, and logistics. Whether it’s a healthcare service, B2B logistics dispatch, or a retail customer retention program, NOVO 1 provides a scalable, safe, and seamless extension to any business.

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Post tags: Fort Worth, Glencoe Capital, Michigan Opportunities Fund, Montana, NOVO 1, Texas, Wisconsin