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http://www.madison.com/tct/business/index.php?ntid=94329&ntpid=1
Confirming previous reports, a Madison company has announced plans to open a call center in downtown Milwaukee that could be employing 200 people next year and eventually up to 600.
Captel Inc., a unit of Madison-based Ultratec Inc. that provides phone captioning service for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, held a news conference in Milwaukee Wednesday to announce the captioning center. The company already has a captioning center in University Research Park on the west side.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the Milwaukee call center plans last week, quoting Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Ultratec declined comment prior to its announcement.
Wednesday's news conference was attended by Gov. Jim Doyle, who said the state would provide $3 million in Enterprise Development Zone tax credits to help finance the project, which includes a company investment of nearly $12 million. Milwaukee also is providing a $250,000 loan that CapTel doesn't have to repay if it meets job creation goals.
Operators at a captioning center use sophisticated computer voice recognition technology to transcribe phone conversations into real-time written captions that appear on the display screen of a user's CapTel phone, which was developed by Ultratec.
The new captioning center will help meet demand for the service, and ensure minimal service interruptions in case of a disaster such as a flood or tornado, the company said.
"Imagine what life would be like if you could not use the telephone?" Ultratec President Robert Engelke, who also is co-inventor of the CapTel phone system, said in a statement. "Having a captioned telephone allows people with hearing loss to get back to work, call the doctor, order a pizza, or just call home like anyone else."
The captioning service is provided as part of Wisconsin's Telecommunications Relay Service. It currently is available in 38 other states and nationally for federal employees. Other states plan to add the service and the company could eventually add call centers outside Wisconsin.
Confirming previous reports, a Madison company has announced plans to open a call center in downtown Milwaukee that could be employing 200 people next year and eventually up to 600.
Captel Inc., a unit of Madison-based Ultratec Inc. that provides phone captioning service for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, held a news conference in Milwaukee Wednesday to announce the captioning center. The company already has a captioning center in University Research Park on the west side.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the Milwaukee call center plans last week, quoting Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Ultratec declined comment prior to its announcement.
Wednesday's news conference was attended by Gov. Jim Doyle, who said the state would provide $3 million in Enterprise Development Zone tax credits to help finance the project, which includes a company investment of nearly $12 million. Milwaukee also is providing a $250,000 loan that CapTel doesn't have to repay if it meets job creation goals.
Operators at a captioning center use sophisticated computer voice recognition technology to transcribe phone conversations into real-time written captions that appear on the display screen of a user's CapTel phone, which was developed by Ultratec.
The new captioning center will help meet demand for the service, and ensure minimal service interruptions in case of a disaster such as a flood or tornado, the company said.
"Imagine what life would be like if you could not use the telephone?" Ultratec President Robert Engelke, who also is co-inventor of the CapTel phone system, said in a statement. "Having a captioned telephone allows people with hearing loss to get back to work, call the doctor, order a pizza, or just call home like anyone else."
The captioning service is provided as part of Wisconsin's Telecommunications Relay Service. It currently is available in 38 other states and nationally for federal employees. Other states plan to add the service and the company could eventually add call centers outside Wisconsin.