Pike County Economic Development Authority Announces Relocation of Empire Office's Accounting Division to Milford Jobs returning from India to Pike County!

Milford, October 30, 2008: Pike County Economic Development Authority today announced that Empire Office, the nation's largest office furniture dealership, has relocated its accounting department to Milford. The new office, located in the Milford Professional Park in Dingman Township, already employs 16 people and opened on September 15th. This department had previously been outsourced from New York City to India.

Company principal, Michael Pfaeffle, relocated to Pike County in January. He recommended that Empire consider Pike County as a location for this division. After talking with a landlord, he was directed to the Pike County Economic Development Authority. The PCEDA assisted the company with their site selection process and brought together a team to assist the company as it ascertained whether there was sufficient local talent to staff the facility. The Pike County Workforce Development Agency and the PCEDA spread the word about the job openings and provided the company with avenues to advertise them. Pike County Light and Power and the PCEDA made space available in their offices for the company to interview prospective employees. Commissioner Harry Forbes even got in on the action, personally showing a space to the company that the county was vacating.

PCEDA also assisted the company in finding local resources to assist them as they brought 10 individuals from India to train the new employees and oversee the smooth transition of operations to the new office in Milford, over a period of approximately six weeks.

Chairman of the Board of Commissioners, Rich Caridi, welcomed the company to Pike County, saying, "We're proud to be the recipient of jobs returning to the U. S., and we're proud that a high quality company like Empire Office chose Pike County as the place to bring them home."

"Empire's move to Milford is a huge success story and we are most grateful for its decision to invest in our community," added Dave Farrington, Chairman of the EDA. "Pike County is a very attractive place to live, work and grow a highly competitive business. Here, we have a wonderful quality of life, accessible economic resources, a multi-talented workforce and easy geographic reach to New York City and other significant commercial centers. Pike County has always been a terrific location to live and work. Now, it's also become a great destination to start or move a business."

"In today's economic climate, businesses need to be more competitive and cost efficient than ever before. Historically, Empire Office Inc. has been able to stay ahead of the curve by predicting trends and we now believe that bringing jobs back to the United States makes good sense. In the past, we learned how to use technology to make international outsourcing very effective - but it was not without its drawbacks; especially in terms of customer service. We're now using that same technology and all the things we learned along the way to enable us to operate outside the walls of the big city. We still maintain a reduced operating cost, but now we have access to a skilled and creative talent pool that is closer to home and far more socially connected to our clients. Pike County's demographic profile was a perfect fit for our back-office operation. It is close enough to NYC that we can share people at the management level and it offers talented people at competitive salaries. The resultant savings gets passed along to our customers and we grow - both in and out of the city. It's a winning situation for everybody," said Peter Gaslow, President and CEO of Empire Office.

Empire Office is headquartered on Park Avenue in New York City. The company was founded in 1946 by Abraham Gaslow and remains family owned. Nationwide, the company employs over 150 people. Empire has many national accounts with Fortune 500 companies, particularly in the finance and insurance industries. They service their clients with office furniture solutions including computer-aided planning, delivery and installation, even furniture repair and refinishing. More information about the company can be found at www.empireoffice.com.

The Pike County Economic Development Authority ("PCEDA"), the lead economic development organization in Pike County, is a municipal corporation. The members of its Board of Directors are appointed by the County Commissioners and its activities are funded by grants, service fees and state and county taxes. The Authority was formerly known as the Pike County Industrial and Commercial Development Authority. The PCEDA office is co-located with the Pike County Chamber of Commerce at 209 East Harford Street in Milford.