Hero to have third call centre in Chandigarh

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2002 5:48:14 AM ]

HYDERABAD: The Rs 7,500-crore Hero group will have its third call centre in Chandigarh with a possible capacity of 1,000 seats for catering primarily to financial services and telecom clients in the US, UK and Australia.

The group is targeting $100 million turnover in two to three years' time for its ITES initiative.

"We have call centres in Bangalore and Gurgaon. The third call centre will service our existing as well as additional clients. We are still debating over the seat capacity," said Sunil Kant Munjal, managing director and CEO, Hero corporate services, the torch-bearer for Hero Group's ITES initiative.

The Hero Group has invested Rs 100 crore into the venture and will not require to make any substantial investment in the near future, Mr Munjal said.

Hero Corporate Service Limited is undertaking the group's ITES thrust through three divisions - Hero Serveit for computer-enabled services, Hero Mindmine for training and Herosoft for software services. Hero Serveit handles the group's call centre operations running with 1,200 seats currently.

Earlier, at a press conference, Mr Munjal announced Hero Mindmine's agreement with AP First (Agency of Promotion and Facilitation of Investments in Remote Services) to offer training for career aspirants in call centers and customer service industries.

AP First is an AP government initiative aimed at promoting ITES industry."AP has emerged as a preferred destination for the IT and ITES industry. We intend supporting the government initiatives and partnering with them to fuel growth in ITES industry by ensuring sustained availability of skilled and trained quality manpower," he said. The state government has provided operational infrastructure at the Nizam College campus, Hyderabad. Hero Mindmine has also tied up with Frontline Soft, a city-based call center to train their employees.

Hero Mindmine, which has trained 2,000 people so far, plans to have 50 training centres across the country. "We will go wherever there is a market demand and resource pool. The cost of the centre depends on the size. Typically each centre costs Rs 12 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and it should be able to train 40 to 60 students," said Mr Asheesh Gupta, business head, Hero Mindmine.