LAKELAND, Fla. - Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that DS Services will open a new 72,000 square foot state-of-the-art customer contact center and create 400 new jobs. DS Services expansion will be a $12.4 million capital investment in the community.

Governor Scott said, “Today’s announcement that DS Services will open a new state of the art customer contact center and more than 400 new jobs is great news. Thanks to companies like DS Services that continue to grow and invest in Florida, more than 879,000 private-sector jobs have been added in Florida since December of 2010. We look forward to seeing their continued success in Lakeland.”

Tom Harrington, CEO of DS Services noted, "We firmly believe that consolidating our customer contact centers in Florida and utilizing state of the art technologies in a fantastic work space, will provide many opportunities for the benefit of the residents of Lakeland and the state of Florida.  We anticipate ultimately creating more than 400 jobs by the end of 2015 at this facility. Our leadership team is excited to work with the state to drive growth in employment while creating a state of the art facility that will not only provide superior service to our customer base, but also offers a challenging and rewarding work environment to our associates ."

Florida’s 122,000 financial and professional firms employ 850,000 Floridians today, representing nearly 12 percent of Florida’s workforce. Florida offers a cost competitive environment, favorable overall tax structure, no personal income tax and a superior quality of life giving companies benefits that will directly impact profits.  Florida today has the second highest number of professional, scientific and technical services companies in the United States.

Bill Johnson, Enterprise Florida CEO and president said, “We are pleased to announce that another company is making a major investment in Florida. This new DS Services customer contact center will create important jobs and capital investment in Polk County. The state’s skilled workforce and favorable business climate allows companies to grow and truly succeed in the Sunshine State, and we’re happy to have DS Services in Florida.”

This project was made possible by the close partnerships between Enterprise Florida, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, City of Lakeland, Polk County and the Lakeland Economic Development Council.

Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Executive Director Jesse Panuccio said, “The new facility planned by DS Services is a win for Polk County and the residents who will soon have a great job.  Creating jobs for Floridians continues to be the top priority for the Scott Administration and this announcement is further proof that the pro-growth policies aimed at getting Florida back to work are succeeding.”

“The announcement that DS Services will be consolidating their customer contact centers into a single facility in Lakeland is excellent news,” said Lakeland Mayor Howard Wiggs. “Every city in this state would be delighted to have a company of this quality join their community. DS Services has extremely talented team members and will be utilizing state of the art technology in providing the finest quality customer care available in the industry. We enthusiastically welcome our newest corporate citizen.”

“Growing our local economy by adding quality, private sector jobs is a major objective of the Board of County Commissioners, so we were pleased to support DS Services of America in their selection of Polk County for their new facility,” said Polk County Board of County Commissioners Chairman, George Lindsey.

Claudia Tritton, Business Development Director for the , LEDC said, “We are pleased DS Services is opening a new and innovative customer contact center in Lakeland, creating 32 management jobs with anticipated growth to over 400 jobs. DS Services, a Business & Medical Services targeted industry, is a great fit for Lakeland, matching our community’s strengths, goals and assets."

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DS Services, a subsidiary of Cott Corporation (NYSE:COT; TSX:BCB) is a national direct-to-consumer provider of bottled water, office coffee and water filtration services. DS Services offers a comprehensive portfolio of beverage products, equipment and supplies to approximately 1.5 million customer locations through its network of 180 sales and distribution facilities, 28 production locations, and daily operation of over 2,200 routes. With one of the broadest distribution networks in the country, DS Services can provide service to approximately 90 percent of U.S. households and efficiently services homes and national, regional and local offices. 

Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) is a partnership between Florida’s businesses and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for the state of Florida. EFI facilitates job growth for Florida businesses through recruitment and retention, international trade and exporting, promotion of sporting events, and capital funding programs to assist small and minority businesses.

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