Bitwise buys Bakersfield's Stria LLC
Aug. 16—Fresno-based workforce development company Bitwise Industries has acquired Stria LLC, a process outsourcing company headquartered in Bakersfield, in a deal observers and insiders see as advancing Kern County's ambitions of becoming more of a tech and business services hub.
Stria founder and CEO Jim Damian said the acquisition announced Tuesday provides money for improving employee benefits and expanding the company's 120-person payroll up to 10 percent so it can meet existing demand for services from around the country.
Bitwise sees the acquisition, its third of the year after two others in unrelated fields outside California, as a sign of its local commitment and, potentially, a destination for the paid apprentices it trains in Bakersfield and 10 other cities around the country.
News of the transaction, whose terms were not disclosed, stoked hopes a local sector identified as promising by Kern's B3K Prosperity economic development collaboration will add good-paying jobs supported by customers outside the county.
"I ... see enormous growth potential for Stria now that some of its expansion barriers have been removed by what Bitwise can bring to the table," said Chris McGlasson, CEO of LANPRO Systems Inc., a Bakersfield-based managed service provider serving small and midsize companies. He congratulated both companies.
Stria streamlines services for other businesses, typically incorporating optical character-recognition software that makes business documents fully searchable. It handles documents and other information for clients located as far away as Hawaii and the East Coast. It also works with DocuSign to provide automated services such as the San Francisco-based company's virtual signature product.
Since Damian founded Stria in Bakersfield in 2005, the company has several times landed on Inc. magazine's 5000 list of the country's fastest-growing privately owned companies. He said even through the pandemic Stria has continued to grow by double digits. Damian said he built the company with a government loan, now paid off, and no outside money until now.
He said the acquisition puts Stria in a better position to attract top talent. He noted 95 percent of Stria employees are from Bakersfield.
"Really, this acquisition by Bitwise is going to allow us to meet the demand of the market and do so in a way that affords people the opportunity to create sustainable, good-paying careers," Damian said.
He added the company will stay headquartered on Mars Court near Meadows Field Airport, even as some engineers will work at the Bitwise center offering needed room for expansion downtown.
Bitwise, fueled by substantial outside investment, has expanding rapidly in recent years with plans to replicate its success in downtown Fresno, where its tech training activities have spawned a coworking operation and spun off a series of tech startups.
In Bakersfield, Bitwise has won public workforce development contracts, opened a three-building training and office center at 18th and H streets and launched a business accelerator.
Bitwise's vice president in Bakersfield, Natasha Felkins, said she sees promise in developing the local technology sector, particularly with regard to B3K's focus on business services.
"I really can see in the next five years the tech industry being one of those funnels for growth (in) employment in Kern County," she said.
President Michael Hansen of Bakersfield records management company Advanced Data Storage called Bitwise's acquisition great news and a recognition of Kern County's growth potential.
"Advanced Data Storage and Stria have been collaborating on projects for over 10 years," Hansen said. "We look forward to continuing to work with the Stria/Bitwise team on future projects and believe all growth is good for our sector."
"Stria has a proven revenue-generating model and an excellent culture that should only enhance Bitwise's opportunities," he continued.
