Lucent Technology Subsidiary Opens Valley Office

Sat., Aug. 19, 2000

By Lorie Hutson lorieh@spokesman.com (509) 459-5446

Avaya Communication, a subsidiary of Lucent Technology, has opened a sales and technical support office in the Spokane Valley.

Helen Mitchell, area vice president of Avaya, said the new office will help the company better serve its customers in the West.

“They are trained professionals, not telemarketers,” Mitchell said. “They are people who work with the sales people in my organization to call our customers and, in some cases, design data products and data solutions over the phone.”

Avaya, formerly the Enterprise Network Group of Lucent Technologies, provides communications systems and software for businesses, government agencies and other organizations. It posted revenues of about $8 billion in 1999, with a net income of approximately $300 million. Its spinoff from Lucent will be complete Oct. 1.

Avaya has leased 6,500 square feet in the Pinecroft Business Park at 12410 E. Mirabeau Parkway and has 35 employees. Their salaries range from $50,000 to $75,000 a year. The office opened early this month and Mike Rinaldi is the local manager.

Spokane was a very attractive place to open for several reasons, Mitchell said. It is close to the Seattle area, it has a talented labor pool that’s in touch with the new economy of high tech, and the cost of doing business is lower than other areas.

Mitchell said the office will grow with business and it will eventually serve Avaya’s entire western region.

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