Wednesday, February 10, 2010

ADP could top goal of 1,000 workers to fill new building

Everyone is now under one roof.

The newly constructed $40 million Automatic Data Processing Inc. Solutions Center on Flowing Wells Road has 500 of the expected 1,000 employees in place, handling the human resources issues and payroll for clients.

ADP moved out of its temporary offices on Stevens Creek Road at the end of March, officials announced Friday at the grand opening of its permanent Augusta campus.

ADP Senior Vice President Steve Penrose said the company is three years away from reaching it goal of 1,000 workers.

An option is to go beyond that goal. "If you build a building that can accommodate 1,200 people, you'd like to fill it," Mr. Penrose said.

Political and economic development officials received a tour Friday of the two-story, 160,000- square-foot facility.

The most noticeable aspect of the work space is the lack of noise. White noise speakers in the ceiling dampen sound, Mr. Penrose explained. Workers won't even hear what is happening in their neighbor's cubicle.

The building has a cafeteria and workout room, a resting room for employees that need to lie down, and a mother's room for nursing moms.

Mr. Penrose said he expects the building to get LEED certification, verification that a building project is environmentally responsible, as soon as the end of the year.

"Throughout the project, we focused on using a high percentage of recycled materials, over 75 percent of the construction waste was recycled or re-used," he said.

It was an up-front expense that he feels will pay for itself in energy savings.

"This project started as most do, in an anonymous fashion," said Terry Elam, chairman of the Development Authority of Richmond County. ADP was hunting for a new location in 2007 and moved into a temporary location in July while it was hunting for a place to build.

Approximately 585,000 clients in 31 countries outsource payroll and human resource duties to ADP. Part of its business is assisting car dealers nationwide with bookkeeping operations.

Reach Tim Rausch at (706) 823-3352 or timothy.rausch@augustachronicle.com.

Comments

augusta now

Thank goodness for ADP bringing in all these high paying jobs. Their employees love working for them! If not for previous SPLOST Yes votes, this large, community minded employer would not have located here. Where do you think Augusta gets the money for new roads, good water and sewer capacity and flood deterrent lakes and ponds? These items are essential for business's to have before they invest their money in our City. The 1% tax keeps our property taxes low. This is such a plus for Augusta. Did you know that ADP just gave a sizeable sum of money to Augusta State, Augusta Tech, and Paine College? This is what I am talking about! Thank you ADP for choosing Augusta.

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