PPLSolutions moved its call center to a building in Humboldt Industrial Park earlier this year and recently signed a lease to double its space in the new facility, adding even more employees.

The call center handles business for many deregulated energy suppliers. Christina Shackleton, business development manager for PPLSolutions, said 114 agents currently work at the center, a large increase from the 60 who were employed at the facility from which PPL Solutions moved this year. With the expansion anticipated to be complete in September, up to 100 additional people will be hired, Shackleton said.

Sue Stevens, director of customer care for PPLSolutions, said, “Due to the explosive 30 percent growth we had in 2013, we needed to expand our Customer Care Center and were looking for a location in Hazleton. We chose Humboldt Industrial Park for several reasons. One of them was that the previous occupant was also a call center, so we didn’t have to build out the facility. We also liked the idea that there was room to further expand in the building, which in six months of occupying we are currently in the process of utilizing this larger space. Also, the park is in a very convenient location and CAN DO has a very good reputation as a trustworthy organization to be associated with.”

The new call center, located on Maplewood Drive, features an updated phone system for PPLSolutions that uses an interactive voice recognition system. Agents at the center handle phone calls, emails, mailings, marketing and more for PPLSolutions’ clients.

The center initially leased 15,000 square feet at the beginning of this year. By April, PPLSolutions signed a lease addendum to double its space.

Property owner and developer Ron Marsilio said CAN DO has assisted him since he first built the facility in 1988 for his company Harbor Electronics Inc. “CAN DO was instrumental in my decision to construct the building in Humboldt Industrial Park, and has continued to support me throughout the years. After Harbor Electronics was sold, they played an active part in showing and recommending the space to prospective tenants moving into or within the Hazleton area,” he said. “Kevin O’Donnell (CAN DO president) and Joe Lettiere (CAN DO vice president of sales and marketing) have done an extraordinary job in supporting me. And in this case, CAN DO has been exceedingly helpful in helping me secure a tenant.”

Other tenants of the building are OneSource Staffing Solutions and PPL Susquehanna, which leases space for equipment. The building has 20,000 square feet of space remaining for lease.