N.E.W. Customer Service Companies, Inc. (NEW), a leading provider of extended service contracts and buyer protection programs for consumer products, will expand into Rapid City, S.D., where it plans to open its ninth communication center and bring 500 jobs to the area.

Scheduled to officially open in early June of 2006, the existing facility will provide NEW with additional infrastructure to meet the growing needs of the company. The communication center will be an inbound call center providing customer service support and troubleshooting for consumers.

NEW will begin hiring for a variety of positions including customer service, supervisory and support personnel for the center. During its first three months of operations NEW plans to hire over 250 employees. The company's long–term expansion plans call for hiring up to 500 people.

"NEW's continued growth and success has made it necessary to expand the company's communication center operations,” said Ray Zukowski, NEW’s senior vice president of operations. “We chose Rapid City, S.D., because … the area is growing, offers a great quality of life for residents and the work force is highly educated and motivated.”

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