Business Good For TMone In Spearfish

Last September, the company TMone moved into the Spearfish call center vacated by First Premier Bankcard just months earlier. Now, TMone is looking to hire more employees.

"They've been here now for about 14 months and they're now employing around 200 people," Spearfish Economic Development Executive Director Bryan Walker said.

In fact, the company is in the midst of its third expansion since opening its Spearfish branch. That means even more jobs are coming to the area.

"They're hoping to add another 60 employees here in the fourth quarter of 2012," Walker said.

All of those jobs are having a big effect on the Spearfish economy, adding between $4.5 and $6 million in payroll alone.

And what's good for one business in the area is good for others.

"We definitely have seen some people working there that have been over here buying cars, looking at stuff. It's been good for us," White's Canyon Motors sales manager Pete Skvicalo said.

Skvicalo says the uptick in business is welcome, especially after First Premier Bankcard left town last July taking with it more than 300 jobs.

"It was a big hit to this area to lose something with that many jobs. And I think everybody with TMone is a bit more upbeat, a little more calmed down when things start to look up a little bit, you know?" Skvicalo said.

"Well, it's really kind of a regional impact, and because Spearfish is the shopping center for the Northern Black Hills, we have much more to gain because of that," Walker said.

TMone advertised its job openings on a NASCAR at Sunday's race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida.