Presidium opens shop in Killeen

This article is taken from the Killeen Daily Herald.  View the article on their website.

For the second time in as many weeks, the one-time threat of a business leaving town has turned into a boon for the area business community.

Presidium Inc., a Reston, Va.-based educational technology and support firm, has officially opened for business, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday in the Killeen Industrial Park. Occupying the former Convergys facility, the company currently employs some 350 workers, with the promise to expand its workforce soon.

Company President Andrew Rosen said the privately-held company currently services some 260 contracts with about 700 colleges and universities around the country, including a handful in Texas. Depending on additional contracts, the Killeen facility could swell to 500 to 600 jobs total by the end of 2010 or early 2011, he said.

Several current employees were added to the Presidium roster from the former Sallie Mae staff, said Rosen and Bob Abraham, executive vice president for operations for the company. One of the areas Presidium specializes in is student financial aid assistance, so the Sallie Mae employees were a good match for the firm's center here, they said.

Presidium started in 2003 as a spin-off from education technology provider Blackboard, Rosen said. The company's founders saw a need they believed they could meet, he said.

"Universities and colleges are not in the business of providing (technical) support to their constituents," Rosen said. "They don't have the ability to support their students and faculty with new technology. We decided to address that need."

In addition to technology support, Presidium manages online registration, bill paying and other services, he said.

"We help students get enrolled, get their financial aid and, once they're in school, help them stay in school," Abraham said.

Rosen and Abraham credited the atmosphere and the attention to detail from city leaders as one of the primary reasons for the move to Killeen. Along with its headquarters in Virginia, the company also has a service center in Somerset, Ky. The Killeen facility is its third venture in the company's seven years, Rosen said.

"We're proud of the fact you're making this happen in our community and allowing our citizens to find employment," Killeen Mayor Tim Hancock said during remarks after the ribbon cutting. "What you're doing has benefited us all."

Greater Killeen Chamber of Commerce President John Crutchfield credited, in part, the work ethic that is predominant in the area with attracting Presidium and other businesses to the community. Bringing in two firms, Aegis and Presidium, to fill what could have been voids in the Industrial Park — and ending up with the potential for more jobs with the new firms than were offered by their predecessors — is a boon to the community, he said.

"(Killeen is) a very vibrant community, populated by very talented people," Crutchfield said. "That always works in our favor.

"I put some of that down to the culture of the American soldier. That has a positive impact on our community."