Ahmedabad: Outsourcing firm Etch Inc has announced plans to pump in Rs.15 crore in expanding its existing presence in Gandhinagar to create 5,000 Jobs by 2010 and has also lined up $4 million for acquisitions.

Etech, which is the parent company of the Gandhinagar based BPO Effective Teleservices that guided Texas to safety from the wrath of Hurricane Rita in September 2005, announced on Monday that it was

LIFE SAVER

The Gandhinagar based BPO Effective Teleservices, guided Texas to safety from the wrath of Hurricane Rita in September 2005

Expanding its outsourcing operations in Gandhinagar to a 2.5 lakh sq ft space at Gandhinagar Infocity that can accommodate 5,000 people.

The privately held Etech Inc is promoted by NRI Dilip Barot, who is also the promoter of Creative Infocity, Gandhinagar. The $40 million turnover Etech has decided to set up a new, Independent tower at the Gandhinagar Infocity, Jim Iyoob, senior director, global development, Etech Inc told newspersons here on Monday.

“Because of the US clients we currently have, and the new ones we are in talks with, we have decided to expand our India footprint by building Tower-4 at Infocity that with bring more than 5,000 Jobs here,” Iyoob said. Currently, Etech has a total strength of 800 people in Gandhinagar Infocity, where it occupied a 1.5 lakh sq.ft. space and around 100 people in Vadodara

The company, which started out its first offshore centre in India in Gandhinagar Infocity’s Tower-1 in 2003 with 22 seats, has already invested Rs. 50 crore in Gujarat across its Gandhinagar and Vadodara centers.

With the new tower, Etech’s Gandhinagar facility would initially house 1000 more seats, with it hope to increase to 5000 in the coming three years.

But that’s not all. The BPO firm is also keen on going public “Once we hit the $100 million mark, which we are targeting in a three year period, we would like to take the company public in India,” said Iyoob, adding that the company was also eyeing the inorganic route for faster growth.

“We have set aside $4 million to acquire small companies in India and abroad that have people and abroad that have people and proper infrastructure but don’t have enough capital to expand,” he explained.

Etech has been in the BPO space for nearly 10 years and is a tier-I preferred provider for several Fortune 500 companies in verticals like telecommunications, finance, accounting, tax preparations, educational, floral, and mortgage or real estate