Cedar Falls business hiring 400 to handle new contracts

An Eastern Iowa business that provides accounts receivable management and communications services for clients in several industries plans to add 400 jobs over the next 12 to 18 months.

CBE Companies of Cedar Falls on Wednesday said the expansion stems from new client acquisition within two of its subsidiaries, CBE Group and CBE Customers Solutions.

CBE Customer Solutions was awarded a new contract with a major telecommunications provider, which starts in early 2014. CBE Group has new contracts with a number of large healthcare providers and is experiencing significant growth in the financial services, communications and education sectors.

Tom Penaluna, CEO and chairman of CBE Companies, said the ongoing growth will require that nearly 200 positions be filled by the end of February.

"We've experienced steady growth over the last few years, but this equals the sudden growth we saw back in 2004 with a U.S. Department of Education contract," Penaluna said. Since the 2004 expansion, which included construction of a $4.6 million building in Waterloo, employment has more than doubled to about 750.

CBE Companies also operates an office in Overland Park, Kan., and recently opened an office in the Philippines. Penaluna said the new wave of growth will likely create the need for a third location in the Cedar Falls-Waterloo area within the next 15 months.

CBE Companies is recruiting inbound and outbound call center representatives bilingual in English and Spanish, front line supervisors and managers, information technology, analytics, finance and for other professional support positions.