Dakotah Direct Sees Big Expansion Merger Could Eventually Boost Spokane Work Force By Hundreds

Dakotah Direct Inc. could add several hundred jobs in Spokane as a result of a merger announced Monday with a new East Coast tele communications company.

The five-year-old Spokane telemarketing company will become a unit of Genesis Teleserv Corp., based outside Philadelphia in West Conshohocken, Penn.

Mike Kuhn, Dakotah’s president, and Larry Martin, president of Dakotah Reservation Services Inc., will become senior vice presidents of Genesis, as well as part owners.

“This was a very good move for Dakotah Direct and a very good move for Spokane,” said Kuhn. “There will be many new jobs.”

Dakotah employs about 1,200 in the area, most in downtown Spokane. The company has other call centers in Pasco, North Dakota, Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska and Colorado.

Kuhn said he and Martin had rejected other offers for Dakotah Direct in recent months.

“We’re on a runway to be a $50 million company this year,” he said, adding that Dakotah has a record of profitability.

The fit with Genesis was based more on culture than finances, Kuhn said.

Genesis President Richard White agreed, noting that the deal with Dakotah was sealed only after some 25 other partners had been considered.

His own background, and that of many other Genesis officials, was built on the technical side of the telecommunications industry, White said.

He said telemarketing is a large but fragmented industry. Genesis, founded last November, was looking for companies in which its expertise could significantly enhance productivity and provide customers with more comprehensive services, he said.

Genesis technology will improve linkages between call centers, White said, and increase capacity to handle incoming calls.

And financial backing from affiliates of Bankers Trust New York Corp. and Chase Manhattan, among others, will give the merged companies resources competitors do not have, he said.

White said Genesis is looking for more partners. International calling is a possible frontier, he said.

Kuhn said Genesis technology will allow Dakotah’s sales force to focus their marketing efforts.

“We’re very supportive of more selective calling,” he said.

Kuhn declined to be specific about the number of workers that might be hired as a result of the deal with Genesis, but ventured that employment in the Spokane area would peak at around 2,000.

The company plans to offer workers a chance to become part owners as a way of expanding benefits.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to take our business to a new level,” Kuhn said.

, DataTimes