ConServe Growing in Western New York

Continental Service Group Inc., commonly known as ConServe, is adding to its space in Western New York after signing a 10-year lease for 25,000 square feet in Cheektowaga, N.Y.

The higher-education debt collection agency currently has 12,000 square feet of space in Lancaster, N.Y. and 54,000 square feet of space at its Fairport, N.Y. headquarters, where it employs 500 people.

ConServe specializes in colleges and universities, government and commercial debt collections. The agency, founded in 1985, was ranked as the top-performing small collection agency on the U.S. Department of Education’s contract for student loan collections from 2004 to 2010 and again for the first quarter ended March 31. ConServe received a new long-term contract from the federal agency in 2009.

Regarding the Q1 award, at the time, Brandon Booker, ConServe's director and interim vice president of Operations, said, "Our performance is a direct result of the combined efforts of our employees who work on our [contract]. It is also reflective of the effectiveness of the initiatives deployed enterprisewide that permeate our culture and are the reason so many of our clients proudly claim ConServe as their top collection agency.”

Company officials said the firm, which also does work for the New York State Higher Education Services Corp., expects new job growth in addition to the federal and state education contracts.

"This is an exciting time for ConServe," ConServe Chief Financial Officer Richard Klein said in a recent news release. "The company is rapidly growing, and our goal is to double the size of our staff over the next several years."

ConServe last August was named on Inc. magazine’s 5000 fastest-growing companies and has received accolades in the Rochester, N.Y. area for quality control and as a great place to work.