HOUSTON -

Automotive Resources International revealed Tuesday that it has opened up a sixth call center in North America, this time adding a location in Houston.

ARI’s five other North American call centers are located in Maple Shade, N.J.; Grapevine, Texas; Mississauga, Ontario; Montreal and Mexico City.

The opening of the Houston facility comes at a time when ARI has shown “outstanding growth” and is expected to receive 3.1 million calls in the U.S. for full-year 2011, according to management. 

Additionally, there are more than 780,000 units that the company manages.

“We are pleased to make this investment to support our growth. ARI has been ranked number one in customer satisfaction since 2003 so delivering the best service for our clients is our highest priority,” stated Bob White, senior vice president of fleet services at ARI.

“Having the most certified technicians in more locations throughout North America, using state-of-the-art call center and Web-based technologies, ensures that we can deliver the fastest possible response times and the most value to our clients and their drivers,” he added.

“Houston was chosen as the location of our new call center based on the availability of qualified technicians. But other considerations included availability of quality facilities, accessibility for local employees and ARI’s management team, and the overall quality of life for ARI employees,” White continued.

There is a 185-employee capacity at the center. ARI started hiring Houston-area technicians in August and training them at the Grapevine location, said Ted Davis, who is the department head of call center operations.

“We temporarily relocated new technicians to Grapevine so they’d not only be capable of taking calls the first day we opened our doors in Houston, but they’d also have absorbed the ARI culture,” Davis explained. “In addition, we relocated experienced technicians from Grapevine and Maple Shade to support the new team.”