NORTH CANTON, Ohio - Choosing optimal sites for financial institutions and public utilities is a specialty for consulting firm Verdi & Company, a subsidiary of Diebold Inc.
Using Verdi's Pointrac online decision-support tool, Heath, Ohio-based Hopewell Federal Credit Union decided to build a new 2,500-square-foot branch in Newark, Ohio, rather than purchasing a 1,750-square-foot branch from another FI.
"We wanted to be sure we were building our new branch in the right location," said Hopewell's chief executive Alan Smith in a news release. "Verdi helped us achieve our strategic goals by building in the parameters for profit and loss over a period of time, based on an examination of the demographics in a 2 1/2-mile radius of each proposed site."
Hopewell provided street address information to Verdi, and using Pointrac, the company gave Hopewell a profile of characteristics, such as demographics, for that particular location and surrounding area.
"Pointrac provides access to a good mix of market elements that will benefit a variety of strategic areas within an organization, such as facilities, operations, branch administration and marketing," said Verdi president Gerald D. Verdi.
Based on Verdi's recommendation, Hopewell also will equip the new site with three Diebold RemoteTeller Stations, which accommodate transactions traditionally conducted in a bank lobby.
RTS allows one teller to serve two or more customers at the same time. RTS utilizes pneumatic tube technology to exchange cash, checks, coins, receipts and other materials. Communication is facilitated using a two-way video connection, microphone or a telephone handset for privacy.
