[dropcap]K[/dropcap]M2 Solutions opened in 2004, having invited unemployed young Saint Lucians to apply for jobs within its walls in Union, Gros Islet. The business process outsourcing company is now, fourteen years later, proud of its record for providing quality award solutions to clients worldwide. Today KM2 boasts locations in six countries, operating 24 hours a day with some 4,000 employees.
On Tuesday KM2 founder David Kreiss came to the birthplace of his business for the unveiling of its second branch. In his address at the opening ceremony, Kreiss gave a brief backstory of how KM2 began, when he was searching for business solutions for America Online. He said: “With continued commitments from the government, KM2 has grown steadily from 25 agents for AOL to over 500 employees performing a variety of services and we do expect to hire another 500 agents in the next six months.”
Kreiss commended the Saint Lucian branch, emphasizing that many of those employed in the beginning years are still with the company. He credits the opportunity to open a new location to “effort, patience, great performance and quality . . . a great work force”. He added: “KM2 Saint Lucia is regarded as the benchmark that all of our other facilities are measured to.”
But the congratulatory message to Saint Lucian staff and his expressions of gratitude to the Government of Saint Lucia and Invest Saint Lucia would not be complete without the founder emphasizing KM2’s contribution to the island.
Said Kreiss: “We spent $3 million in building renovations this year. We spend half a million dollars on transportation annually.
KM2 Saint Lucia has an annual payroll of over $13 million. It’s worth every penny. In the last six months alone we spent over $2 million on electrical data wiring and local labour to support our renovations and construction. Five canteen operations are supported entirely by the employees. We have employees that have been with us over ten years. The average tenure of our supervisors is eight years.”
By the end of the ribbon-cutting ceremony for KM2 Saint Lucia’s new branch at Massade Industrial Estate, David Kreiss and Prime Minister Allen Chastanet had already twice indicated the company was looking to open a third branch in the south of Saint Lucia in the near future.
Addressing local youth, the prime minister said: “If you have the confidence and ability to sell on the phone, you can sell anywhere in the world. And your government will continue to do everything that’s necessary to continue to grow this industry.”
