FARMINGTON - Enterprise car rental service will open an office in Farmington starting June 1.

The office is on Wilton Road next to Subway, regional manager Dan Chaplick of Westbrook said Friday. The office was formerly occupied by Harris Real Estate.

"Since we're up there quite a bit and we hire quite a few employees from the University of Maine at Farmington, it seemed time to open a new office," he said. Chaplick oversees 17 offices in Maine for the 50-year-old car leasing company.

While Farmington will never gross the business of an airport Enterprise office or one closer to the turnpike in Maine, Chaplick said, it will be a benefit for the customer not to have to get a car from Auburn.

A good part of the company's business comes from the emergency replacement market, customers are often referred to Enterprise by insurance companies after being involved in an accident, he said.

The seasonal traveler such as summer vacationers and leaf-peepers also provide business, he said, mentioning a seasonal weekend offer that provides a car at half the usual rate from October to May.

Based on the number of local body shops, car dealers and corporate accounts they already do business with in the Farmington area, Chaplick expects the office to do well.

Just a couple of employees are expected to handle the new office with some cars kept there, he added. Cars will be shared with the Auburn location depending on demand.

When asked about hiring employees from UMF, Chaplick said everybody at Enterprise has a four year degree. Many are hired their first or second year out of college and go into a management trainee program.

"It's not just about renting cars, it's all aspects of business ... it's a sales job, a business job, and marketing," he said. "In our operations we do everything. We're never too big to wash a car, and we never forget where we came from."

Some UMF students entering their senior year, have been hired as interns for part-time driving or prepping cars, he said.