Staff Report
Published Jan. 12, 2011

Perceptis Inc. of Ohio plans to open a 200-person call center in downtown Greenville to serve the higher education market, state and local economic development agencies announced today.

Over the next five years, the company expects to invest $1.125 million in the new facility and create at least 200 new jobs, according the Greenville Area Development Corp., Upstate SC Alliance and S.C. Department of Commerce.

“Since this company’s founding, Perceptis has grown rapidly, and this new facility in Greenville County will help us meet growing demand for our services,” said William Bradfield, founder and CEO of Perceptis. “Greenville County and South Carolina provide us with an excellent business environment and the strong labor force we need to support operations. We look forward to putting roots down in South Carolina’s Upstate and starting operations at this new facility.”

The company’s new support service center will be at 325 Ws McBee St. in downtown Greenville. The company expects to start operations by March 31.

Founded in 2004, Perceptis has grown rapidly to service more than 100 institutions and 1.5 million end users. 

Frontier Capital, a private equity firm providing growth equity to technology enabled business services companies, provided $6 million in expansion funding to Perceptis in September 2010. Frontier Capital is one of the four funds involved in the SC Venture Capital Authority/InvestSC program and initiated the recruitment effort to bring the company to South Carolina.

“We were extremely pleased to be involved in bringing this project to fruition,” said Harry Huntley, executive director of InvestSC. “This announcement provides a great example of what can be achieved through the venture capital program. Usually it can take time to realize benefits from a venture capital investment, but here we were able to invest in an established company and the money has quickly translated into new jobs for South Carolinians.”

Perceptis plans to begin hiring for the new positions in January. Anyone interested in job opportunities with the company should visit the Careers page on the Perceptis website at www.perceptis.com.

Based in Cleveland, Perceptis provides around-the-clock support for IT, financial aid, human resources, recruitment, admissions, enrollment, retention, facilities and general switchboard for the higher education market.

“This decision by Perceptis proves that quality companies will seek out the right environment in which to grow and thrive, even in challenging economic times,” said Greenville Mayor Knox White. “Perceptis will be a valued and appreciated member of the Greenville community, and we’re pleased to welcome them here.”

“The Perceptis decision to establish a regional customer service center in Greenville County is another step in bringing good employment opportunities to citizens of this area,” said H.G. “Butch” Kirven Jr., director of the Greenville Area Development Corp. and chairman of Greenville County Council.  “This is a good company serving institutions of higher education with innovative and cost saving service products.  Their selection of Greenville County is the result of our refined economic development team approach.”