In the latest filing news across N.C.: A call center in Rutherford County is laying off 160 people. Meanwhile, Asheville-based Avadim Technologies is raising more cash.

The details:

  • Ameridial laying off 160

Ameridial, an Ohio-based call center company with locations in Ohio and North Carolina, will permanently lay off approximately 160 employees at its Rutherford County location as of March 31, due to the loss of a major account.

The Spindale call center will retain 100 employees on a separate manufacturing contract.

Mike McCarthy, vice president of health care for Ameridial, confirmed the company lost a contract with a health insurance company moving the call center jobs to India.

“My heart breaks for any agent that’s impacted,” McCarthy said. “They’ve made decisions based on their best business interests and, unfortunately, it impacts us.”

Amerdial’s general manager flew down from Amerdial’s Canton, Ohio, headquarters to meet with employees on Jan. 9 and 10, giving them the news in person, the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce said.

McCarthy said Ameridial is looking for another health care client it could contract with since the 160 people being laid off are trained to take insurance calls and answer questions.

Rutherford County faced job cuts last year around this time. Last January, 200 people lost their jobs when Horsehead Corporation’s recycling plant closed.

Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce director Clark Poole remains optimistic more companies will come to the county, citing Everest Textile from Taiwan that is building a plant and will begin hiring in March.

“Over a three-year period, they will bring over 600 jobs,” Poole said.

Ameridial, founded in 1987, provides customer care services, which include customer surveys, market research, audits and thank you calls. The company serves organizations in the health care industry, satellite and wireless companies, non-profit organizations and direct response marketing companies.

Agents start between $10 and $11 an hour plus performance pay increases every six months for answering customer service calls. No selling is involved, and pay may be higher for evening and weekend work, the company said.

The notice was filed pursuant to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which must be filed 60 days in advance of a plant closing that affects more than 50 employees in a 30-day period or a mass layoff of at least 500 employees or between 50 to 499 employees if they make up at least one-third of the employer’s workforce.

  • Avadim raising more money

Asheville-based Avadim Technologies Inc., an Asheville-based life sciences company, raised $1.24 million in equity financing, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Avadim is one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S., as it was ranked No. 234 on Inc. Magazine’s 2016 Inc. 500 list with three-year sales growth of 1,675 percent.

After several successful quarters and reports of record revenue numbers, it is rumored that the private company is preparing for an initial public offering. Avadim Technologies raised more than $3.2 million in private stock offerings in November.

The company filed a Form D, signed by president David Fann, on Jan. 17. The total offering amount represents the price of 292,782 shares at $4.25 per share issued pursuant to a private placement.

Founded in 2007, Avadim Technologies sells specialty skin hygiene products, such as pH-balanced, no-rinse skin cleansers, to healthcare providers and consumers. The company curreently sells its product line to hospitals across America and medical facilities run by the Department of Defense and Veteran’s Administration, but plans to offer its products in major drug stores such as CVS and Walgreen’s by the end of 2017.

Private companies, such as Avadim Technologies, relying on a Reg D exemption, are not required to register securities offerings with the SEC, but instead they must file a Form D electronically with the SEC after they first sell their securities.

Note: These stories are from the North Carolina Business News Wire, a service of UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Media and Journalism