FORT COLLINS – The steady influx of international and out-of-state employees at Hewlett-Packard Co. has lured a relocation company to Fort

Collins.

Chamness Relocation Services Inc., with headquarters in Phoenix, opened an office in March primarily to serve transitory employees at

Hewlett-Packard, as well as to begin relocation services for other major corporations.

Chamness has been assisting Hewlett-Packard employees moving to new locations since 1991.

“They didn’t outright ask us to open an office in Fort Collins,´ said Teri James, the Phoenix-based marketing director for Chamness, “but this

definitely was done to better service them.”

The local office is staffed by general manager Michael Brown and destination-services counselor Nicole Knauer.

Chamness places people in corporate temporary housing, either single-family, condo or apartment, that comes complete with linens, kitchenware,

washer and dryer, security systems and other essentials. The company also conducts orientation tours and will help transferred employees find

permanent housing quickly.

“Once an employee moves to a new city, our goal is to get them up and running as fast as possible,” James said.

The company was founded in 1989 on $2,000 by a working mother. Revenues this year are expected to reach $12 million. In addition to

Hewlett-Packard, Chamness works with companies such as U S West, AT&T, Samsung and Motorola.

Locally, Brown also is reaching out to secure new clients. Already, Eastman Kodak Co. in Windsor has signed on. Additionally, Brown is marketing

to Anheuser Busch Inc., Symbios Logic and Teledyne Water Pik.

If things go well in Larimer and Weld counties, Brown intends to look south toward Longmont, Boulder and Colorado Springs.

“We work with Housing Helpers a lot,” Brown said. “They’re experts in this field. They’ve been very, very helpful.”

Chamness entered the Colorado market behind RPC-Relocations Services Inc., a competitor from Texas. Other similar services include Carousel

Properties. That company, however, owns its housing stock. And an employee of All Property Services also recently left that company to start a

relocation firm.

“We offer some very tangible savings to companies,” Brown said of Chamness. “There used to be entire departments with large corporations that

handled this sort of thing. We save them that overhead.

“What we do also offers some very significant intangibles,” he added. “If employees can start work and not have to worry about finding a home, they

may come to work more relaxed and be better workers.”