ASHLAND, Ky.

Friday, August 18, 2000

ASHLAND, Ky. – Applied Card Systems will add 1,000 new jobs at its location in the Ashland Corporate Center.

Company officials announced its expansion Thursday, prompting applause from local economic development leaders.

"More jobs in the Tri-State area is better for all of us," said Pat Clonch, Greater Lawrence County Area Chamber of Commerce executive director.

"It fills a need," Mrs. Clonch said.

Closures at Cabletron and Intermet-Ironton Iron joined with Ashland Inc.’s move to Covington, Ky., and cutbacks at AlliedSignal, now Honeywell, to force the Lawrence County area to deal with more than 1,000 jobs lost within the last year.

Boosts in unemployment benefits and plant expansions in neighboring Huntington, W.Va., have helped but Ironton leaders say they are still dealing with severe economic problems.

To have two job-heavy Applied Card workplaces next door to Lawrence County – Huntington and now Ashland – is a benefit, Mrs. Clonch said.

Starting wages for the new jobs planned for Ashland range from $8.19 to $9.50 per hour, good entry level salaries, she said.

Plus, the company offers expanding wages and signing bonuses.

The high starting wages is another benefit for the area, because it makes all companies more competitive in what they pay, which in turn is an economic boost to people living in the Tri-State, Mrs. Clonch said.

Rocco Abessinio, chairman and CEO of Applied Card Systems, made the jobs announcement Thursday afternoon, saying the company plans to add an additional 70,000 square feet to its office space at the Ashland Corporate Center.

With the move, Applied Card expects to employ more than 2,000 associates in the Tri-State region – a result of dynamic growth since the company’s inception in 1987, Abessinio said.

"Our choice to expand in the Tri-State area is also due, in large part, to the outstanding efforts of our associates, along with our confidence that we can continue to attract and retain quality associates in the region," he said.

The expansion was a collaborative effort between the company, Ashland Alliance, the Kentucky Development Office, Addington Inc. and Ashland Inc., Abessinio said.

The company is actively recruiting personnel for information technology, human resources, learning and development, accounting, financial, internal audit, settlement, payroll processing, card security, credit, consumer service and collections operations.

Applied Card Systems services VISA and MasterCard customers primarily for Cross Country Bank, a leading national credit card issuer. The company opened its first Tri-State location in October 1998, expanding to Kentucky last year.