Boston Financial Data Services cuts ribbon in Rockland, plans 200 jobs by next year

By Daniel Dunkle
2008 VillageSoup

ROCKLAND (Oct 22): "This is truly a grand day for everyone," U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe said Oct. 22 at the ribbon cutting for Boston Financial Data Services Inc. in Rockland.

The statement seemed to capture the tone of the event, which drew a number of city, local and statewide community and business leaders. Boston Financial Data Services has moved into the former MBNA facility on Rockland's waterfront at 12 Water St.

Dignitaries including U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, Gov. John Baldacci, Mayor Hal Perry, Boston Financial President and CEO Steve Hooley, Vice President and Rockland Site Manager Gary Mercier, Vice President Cindy Rock, Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Bob Hastings and local community leaders participate in Boston Financial's Rockland ribbon cutting Oct. 22 at the former MBNA complex on the waterfront. (Photo by Daniel Dunkle)

Division Vice President of Investor Services Cindy Rock said the facility employs 84 local residents right now and plans to employ more than 200 by this time next year.

Rock added that it was a good thing the company had resources in Rockland to draw on as events on Wall Street made national news, because Boston Financial's call volume has increased to 40 percent more than expected.

Speakers at the event included Gov. John Baldacci, Commissioner John Richardson of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, William Card of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins' office, Boston Financial President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Hooley, and Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer Bob Hastings.

In attendance were numerous local state representatives and Matthew Jacobson, president and CEO of the nonprofit Maine & Company. Several of the speakers took time to thank Jacobson and Maine & Company for helping broker the deal that brought Boston Financial Data Services to Rockland.

Hooley opened his remarks by clearing up the rumors about why Boston Financial came to Rockland. He pointed out that Vice President and Rockland Site Manager Gary Mercier has ties to Maine, but said that wasn't the reason. Mercier moved to Rockland in September, along with his wife, Christine, and his two children.

Hooley also said it was not because his own family owns a home in Wells and has been summering in Maine for years. Even though the MBNA-built building was state of the art, Hooley said his company could have bought or built a great building anywhere in the world.

He said it was the trained, educated work force in Rockland and the Midcoast that drew the company to Maine. The company did a national survey looking at Colorado, Missouri, Florida, Kansas, North Carolina, Connecticut and Massachusetts before settling on Maine.

The call center floor at Boston Financial in Rockland. (Photo by Daniel Dunkle)

Hooley said the company has never received such a reception as it has in Maine where everyone from the governor to local leaders has offered to help in any way they can. He and Hastings credited the governor's Pine Tree Zone tax incentives for helping bring the company here.

He noted how significant this event is. "Not a lot of financial service companies are doing ribbon cuttings today," Hooley said.

Baldacci also promoted his Pine Tree Zones at the event. "We've said, 'We're open for business,'" he said. He said the state has shown it is willing to forgive some taxes in order to put the people of Maine to work, and said this aggressive economic tool has created many jobs in the state already. "This is how we get things done in Maine," he said.

The governor added that the state has some of the best golf courses in the country, and gave Hooley a gift of a package of golf balls.

"You had faith in this community and this work force," Snowe added. "We'll never let you down."

In addition, Rockland Mayor Hal Perry gave Hooley the key to the city.

The event included light refreshments and tours of the building where people were working in the call center while other employees were finishing up their training for jobs on the call center floor.

It was announced in June that Boston Financial Data Services, a leading provider of investor and intermediary services to the financial services industry, had formalized a lease agreement with Rockland Harbor Park LLC to occupy the Water Street complex.

Boston Financial is headquartered in Quincy, Mass., and employs about 3,000 associates across its locations in Quincy, Kansas City, Missouri, and Lawrence, Kan.

Maine & Company leveraged local and state incentives and provided site location services and work-force analysis data to Boston Financial, helping bring the company to Rockland.

Boston Financial is leasing the entire facility, which is more than 70,000 square feet. The company has been in business for about 35 years, having been founded in 1973. For more information, visit bostonfinancial.com.