That’s why smaller communities aggressively recruit these companies.

And that’s why some call center operations are increasingly setting up shop in rural America instead of overseas.

Another factor: According to a story earlier this year in The Wall Street Journal, companies can save millions of dollars thanks to cheaper real estate and labor costs by moving out of major cities to less-populous areas of the country.

University towns are especially a natural fit for call centers because they can cater to the industry’s typically high turnover rate.

Manhattan, Kan., is home to about 45,000 people, Kansas State University and a new call center operation.

Chino, Calif.,-based Alorica Inc., a private customer service management provider, moved into a building last month at the Manhattan Technology Park — just days after another call center vacated it.

“Sykes’ departure is my gain,” Jay Larkin, vice president of global call center operations for Alorica, told the Manhattan Mercury. “The Sykes facility and employees are a great fit [with Alorica].”

Alorica currently has about 20 employees in Manhattan but has plans to steadily grow the operations and hire back many of Sykes’ former 300-plus employees. The company’s goal is to eventually have around 600 employees fill the call center.

An Available Labor Pool

With 22,000 Kansas State students during the school year and military spouses from nearby Fort Riley, Alorica should have no trouble filling vacant positions. This was a major selling point as Alorica considered Manhattan, according to the company.

Alorica has about 1,500 employees globally, with three other call centers in the United States and four overseas. The offshore centers are used primarily for foreign clients.

The company feels that through greater efficiency, Alorica can remain a competitive force while keeping its call centers on U.S. soil, according to Larkin.

Manhattan isn’t the only Kansas college town to gain a new call center in recent months.

Further east, residents in Lawrence, home of the University of Kansas, welcomed a new inbound call center, Oxygen 2-U. The city of Lawrence is just west of Kansas City.

Much like Manhattan, Lawrence is a bona fide university town that boasts an impressive educational attainment rate. Nearly 43 percent of Lawrence residents over the age of 25 hold a bachelor’s degree.

The company plans to bring about 100 new jobs to its facility in Lawrence’s I-70 Business Center.

The area’s work force and availability of space were major lures for Oxygen 2-U, which is setting up a center to handle inbound calls generated from TV advertisements for its main product, a device that gives people who use oxygen tanks for breathing assistance the option of refilling their tanks at home.

Yet another call center operation was announced in April for the Renner Ridge Corporate Park located in Lenexa, Kan., a community in the Kansas City metro. T-Mobile USA is building a new customer service center that will house more than 650 employees. The custom-built, 78,000 square foot high-tech center will support the company’s national and international accounts. Initially, the project means nearly 500 jobs for the metro.

Bellevue, Wash.,-based T-Mobile USA Inc. is part of T-Mobile International, Deutsche Telekom’s mobile telecommunications subsidiary.

T-Mobile USA is a nationwide wireless service provider that offers digital voice, messaging and high-speed wireless date services to more than 12 million U.S. customers.

Smooth Skies in Wichita

Of course, call centers aren’t the only the only facilities expanding operations in the Sunflower State.

The state’s economy is driven by a host of other industries that showcase various manufacturing operations, agricultural firms, headquarters facilities and high-tech operations.

The aviation industry is a major economic player in Wichita. Companies including Raytheon Aircraft Co., Boeing Aircraft Wichita, Bombardier Aerospace Learjet and Cessna Aircraft Co. have substantial operations in the Wichita metro, contributing to the area’s strong concentration of aviation manufacturers.

Exacta Machine Inc., an aerospace component and assembly manufacturer, recently announced its decision to expand operations in Wichita by purchasing new equipment and hiring about 20 new employees.

While terms have not yet been finalized, the company will receive an incentive package that includes state work force training funds, income tax credits and refunds, and local tax abatements.

When the decision was made to grow, executives looked at several alternatives in terms of what the company needed to make its growth step a reality and which location offered the best opportunity, said Casey Voegeli, director of business operations for Exacta.

“The economic development staff at the [Wichita] Chamber was of invaluable assistance to us in working with Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition partners to access incentives that were made available to us so we could stay in Wichita,” he said.

In Topeka, Jostens, a manufacturer of diploma covers, announced that it will expand its plant during the next 12 to 18 months. The expansion means an additional 175 to 225 jobs.

GO Topeka developed a financial assistance package of up to $375,000 over a three-year period based upon Jostens commitment to increase the number of new jobs in the Topeka/Shawnee County area.

“The help from the city of Topeka, Shawnee County, GO Topeka and the Kansas Department of Commerce has been significant in planning this expansion,” said Robert Spayd, plant manager for Jostens’ facility in Topeka. “We’ve been able to identify incentives and training dollars that will make our growth plans easier and more cost effective.”