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Ameridial Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Spindale, NC — A group of new Ameridial employees were listening intently to call-center trainer Sarah Wolf while a group of local dignitaries were attending the company’s official grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony a few feet away.
Ameridial Ribbon cutting
L-R: Lt Gov Walter Dalton, Spindale Mayor Mickey Bland, Senator Debbie Clary, Representative Mike Hager, Rutherford County Commissioners Julius Owens and Bill Eckler, Spindale Councilman Tom Roberson and Jim McGeorge, Ameridial.

“This is the silver bullet — it’s the cure for our economy,” said state Rep. Mike Hager. “Putting people back to work has to be our priority. People need jobs to put money back into the economy, and that’s got to be our main focus.”

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Wednesday morning at Ameridial’s new Rutherford County call center on West Street in Spindale.

Hager, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and Sen. Debbie Clary cut the red, white and blue ribbon held by Ameridial executives Mark Schmidt and James McGeorge.

McGeorge, Ameridial chairman, said his company’s experience thus far in Rutherford County has been “wonderful.”

“It’s been a very nice experience,” McGeorge said. “We hope to grow our business here.”

True to plans, McGeorge said Ameridial has hired about 50 people to operate its call center. 

He said the company is currently working on bringing in new clientele with the hopes of expanding to “a couple-hundred” employees.

“We hope to find good, quality people like we have now,” McGeorge said. “We’re all about people.”

Dalton welcomed the Ohio-based company to Rutherford County and North Carolina with an allusion to the Wright Brothers, who came from Ohio to Kitty Hawk where they became the fathers of American aviation.

“That worked out pretty well,” Dalton said. “It was the start of our aviation and aerospace programs.”

Ameridial is one of several industries to either relocate, announce intentions to relocate or expand current interests in Rutherford County over the past year. Among them are, Facebook, Horsehead Corporation, Gourmet Kitchens and Diamondback Tactical.

“We’ve got a really diverse group of industries here now,” said Hager. “Before, we concentrated so much on textiles and furniture and when those industries went bad, we were done.

“With the diversity we have, those industries will beget similar industries. We may have other call centers and other defense-based industries look here now because of what we already have.”

Rutherford County Commission Chairman Bill Eckler said the official opening of Ameridial is another step in the right direction for the county.

“It’s exciting for us to be able to put this together,” Eckler said. “I’m excited. It’s nice to move forward and see the positive direction we’re going in this county.”

jclayton@thedigitalcourier.com
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