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PrivacyStar Expands, Adds 121 Conway Jobs - Innovate Arkansas

PrivacyStar Expands, Adds 121 Conway Jobs

By Luke Jones, 7/30/2012 10:02:15 AM

PrivacyStar of Conway announced Monday that it is expanding its corporate headquarters and adding 121 jobs in Conway.

At a morning news conference in Conway attended by Gov. Mike Beebe, the company said it will move its corporate headquarters to the Federal Plaza at 1111 Main St. The jobs will have average hourly wages of $38 and the expansion represents a $270,000 investment.

"Most of our new jobs will be highly technical mobile application and network based," PrivacyStar Founder Charles Morgan said. "The need for talented and motivated employees in the mobile technology world has never been greater and will only continue to grow as the industry rapidly expands worldwide."

Arkansas Business reported in March that the company had begun hiring between 30 and 50 employees and was seeking additional office space to accommodate its growing mobile apps business.

PrivacyStar develops apps for call and text blocking, caller ID and other privacy options. The service has more than 1 million registered users. Through the app, users have filed more than 300,000 FTC complaints due to unwanted calls, according to the company.

At the new conference, Morgan recapped the company's history, describing its growth from one employee to its current 21. He said the company can serve an international market from its new location.

"We have a lot of smart people in Arkansas. I think we demonstrated that with our previous successes," Morgan said. "I know there is a market for what we're doing worldwide."

Beebe said the local colleges are planning to adjust curriculums to help train jobs for the PrivacyStar expansion. Beebe said the jobs will impact the quality of life in Conway.

"The average salary is about $75,000 a year," Beebe said. "It probably equates to about $300,000 a year in Manhattan."

Beebe said the new jobs are part of a movement toward more educated jobs and economic development in Arkansas.

"We have something going in our state that all of you should be proud of," he said.

Arkansas Business will update this story.