An Iowa-based call center operator plans to return to El Paso by opening a new call center in November with 150 jobs on the West Side.

Thomas L. Cardella & Associates, or TLC Associates, also is opening a new call center in Las Cruces in January with 350 jobs.

It also plans to open another center in New Mexico. But Thomas Cardella, founder and chief executive officer of the 11-year-old company, said he can’t divulge where that will be located until an announcement is made, possibly in about a week.

The new El Paso call center will be at 1790 Commerce Park Drive in the Northwest Corporate Center.

TLC Associates operated a call center with about 200 employees in the same industrial park for several years, but closed after the company lost its lease, Cardella said. It also has home-based call takers in El Paso, he said.

It’s looking to open a second El Paso location in 2018, most likely on the East Side, Cardella said.

This area has a good-quality workforce with a good work ethic, Cardella said.

Starting wages for the El Paso jobs will be $10.50 per hour, plus bonuses and benefits, he said.

TLC Associates provides call-center services for Fortune 500 companies, Cardella said.

He wouldn’t name the companies, or say which companies the El Paso call center will handle. But TLC’s website lists 10 clients, including Vonage, Vivint, DirecTV, CenturyLink, Verizon, Bank of America and AIG insurance.

It has four call centers in Iowa, one in Florida and one in the Dominican Republic, Cardella said.

TLC, based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the second call-center company Cardella has owned, he said.

“I’ve been in the call-center business since 1989,” working for other companies before starting a company in 1995, he said.

More information:tlcassociates.com

Vic Kolenc may be reached at 546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on Twitter.