Governor Susana Martinez Announces the Grand Opening of Safelite Group’s New Rio Rancho Contact Center
Rio Rancho, NM – Today Governor Susana Martinez joined local officials and Safelite Group® executives to celebrate the grand opening of Safelite Solution’s new Rio Rancho contact center. Since June, Safelite Solution’s has created 517 full-time and 288 part-time jobs. Originally projected to create 400 full-time jobs by the end of 2018, Safelite is roughly two years ahead of their hiring schedule and will hire more than 1,000 employees in Rio Rancho by the end of the year.
“Today, the power of New Mexico’s business incentives are on full display,” said Governor Susana Martinez. “When we create a business-friendly environment, we attract companies like Safelite that make an incredible difference in our communities by creating great jobs and great opportunities for New Mexicans.”
Safelite cited New Mexico’s talent-rich workforce and business-friendly environment as some of the reasons for choosing New Mexico for their new contact center. Safelite’s new facility represents the largest single job creation in New Mexico since 2009.
“For 70 years, Safelite AutoGlass has been known for leading the way in the vehicle glass repair and replacement industry, but that’s not all we do,” said Safelite Group President & CEO Tom Feeney. “As our services grow and diversify, it’s a fantastic time to work at Safelite. Our people will have a chance to grow with us as we seek to be the greatest, most trusted and admired service brand.”
Safelite Solution’s VP of Client Service Delivery Brian O’Mara added, “We have found people who demonstrate our Safelite Spirit – a service mindset, can-do attitude and caring heart, which will allow us to continue to offer the best possible experience to our customers and our fleet and insurance clients who continually look for us to support their growing needs.”
To date, Safelite has been awarded $873,292 in Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP) funds and New Mexico will invest $3 million in Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) funding to invest in infrastructure improvements to accommodate Safelite’s expansion. LEDA serves as New Mexico's closing fund, and is a valuable tool for recruiting new businesses to the state while helping those that are already here grow and thrive. Governor Martinez fought to grow the closing fund to $56 million, up from nearly zeroed out when she took office.
“We are appreciative of the State of Mexico and local officials who have been great partners, they were a large factor in selecting Rio Rancho as our new home,” said Feeney. “Our commitment is to be a long-standing partner to the Rio Rancho community. Our business is expanding, and we’ve opened this facility to support our growth. By extending our service, we see great potential to continue to make a real difference in the lives of the people we serve and the communities in which we live and work.”
As a people-focused organization, Safelite offers a dynamic work environment and caring culture with programs that support the professional and personal well-being of their employees such as paid training programs, professional development and tuition reimbursement.
“By creating such a huge impact in a short amount of time, Safelite has truly shown how important our incentives are for New Mexico,” said Economic Development Secretary Matt Geisel. “With tools like LEDA and JTIP, we are able to not only create jobs but also create opportunities for the development of our workforce.”
About Safelite GroupSafelite Group® is a leading service organization reaching record-growth thanks to a People Powered, Customer Driven strategy. Based in Columbus, Ohio, the company, which has been in business since 1947, is comprised of three major business operations whose services include Safelite AutoGlass®, the largest provider of vehicle glass repair and replacement services in the U.S.; Safelite® Solutions, the nation’s leading fleet and insurance claims management services; and Service AutoGlass®, a vehicle glass wholesale and distribution operation. Together, the businesses serve 10 million customers annually through more than 9,200 MobileGlassShopsTM and facilities. Safelite Group employs nearly 14,000 people throughout the United States. For more information, visit Safelite.com, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.