Southeast a Strong Draw for ARM's Oxford

The President and CEO of a collection agency getting ready to move their headquarters from New York to Florida told insideARM that the Southeast is becoming a very attractive place for accounts receivable management work.

“The decision to expand in the Southeast is a better business decision than expanding in higher-cost areas," said Peter Pinto, head of Oxford Management Services. Oxford is moving its headquarters from Melville, N.Y. to Fort Pierce, Fla. (“Collector Oxford Management to Move HQ to Florida,” March 27).

Pinto explained that while the company is moving its headquarters, it will not be closing any offices. All of the senior management team and the support staff will be making the move to Florida. “We owe all of our success to the current management team. It was very important that we got total buy-in from everyone before deciding to move.”

“This is truly an expansion,” he said. “The call center in Melville will remain intact and fully-staffed.”

After opening another call center in Pennsylvania last summer, Oxford has experienced increasing demand for its services from existing and new clients, said Pinto. “We are very excited about 2008, and ... [the new offices] are all a part of controlled and forecasted growth.”

Pinto said that current economic conditions will probably spell good times ahead for the collection industry.

Pinto said the company evaluated nearly 100 locations before deciding on Fort Pierce. The new office will be about 60 miles north of an Oxford call center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. “It’s nice that the offices are so close, but they are far enough away that we can draw on different talent pools,” he commented.

The new office, scheduled to open in late summer, will be ISO and fully data security complaint, according to Pinto. Recruiting has already begun and Pinto said that they are bringing in new members for the management team.