Spokane Valley-based Atlas Staffing Inc., a staffing and recruiting firm, says it has opened its first Oregon branch office. 

The company’s CEO and founder, Josh McKee, says Atlas has been growing quickly in the years since its 2011 start. 

The new Oregon office, which opened late last month, is located just southwest of Portland in the Beaverton area. McKee says the new office, which is the company’s fifth branch overall, occupies a 1,000-square-foot leased space there. Although the office only has one recruiter so far, McKee says additional staff will be hired soon. 

“One of our Spokane employees had expressed interest in working within the Portland market, which is one area we’d considered expanding into,” he says. “So he’s working to help us expand our team there, and once we begin to understand that market, we’ll be looking to create a larger, more permanent space.”

McKee says the move into the Portland area is significant, as it is the first large market in which the company has opened an office.

“We’ve had success as a local Spokane business, and we love being from here,” he says. “But we’re also proud to be growing. Each market has its challenges to be sure, but we’ve got a great team, and we’re hopeful for the future.”

McKee says the company has grown quickly in the past few years, adding offices in Boise, Kennewick, and Yakima, following its 2015 purchase of ACTNOW Inc., a Yakima-based workforce and training company.

“We grew 120 percent from 2014 to 2015, mostly due to the purchase of ACTNOW Inc.,” he says. “They had two offices, and we decided to keep the Yakima location, and turned their Wenatchee branch over to another operator.”

McKee says Atlas saw its revenues increase an additional 11 percent last year, and is expecting similar growth this year. 

“We expect double-digit growth year over year for the foreseeable future, as we continue to expand into other geographical areas,” he says. 

The company plans to continue to grow through organic starts as well as acquisitions, he says, and is looking at various opportunities throughout the western U.S., possibly focusing on the Phoenix area next.

“We’re really looking to take things to the next level,” he says. “We started with smaller markets, and this Beaverton location is kind of our first test of a larger market. If we’re successful there, we’ll be looking to keep branching out.”

McKee says Atlas currently employs 21 people companywide, with nine of those being located at its Spokane Valley headquarters at 920 N. Argonne Road.

“Those don’t include our temporary hires,” he says. “Each office starts small and grows as we add recruiters and salespeople, and we’re excited for future expansions.”