By Alli-Michelle Conti
PBN Staff Writer

Focused on information technology staffing, both permanent and contract, Bridge Technical Solutions is among the Top 15 Fastest-Growing Companies in the state. James Wright and Joe Devine purchased the business in 2002 when it had only 11 consultants and a part-time recruiter. Currently, they have an internal staff of 14 with a team of approximately 80 consultants.

“Bridge has been successful because our team understands that this is a people business. We respect the individual and we never try to force a placement,” said Wright.

After purchasing the business, it took 18 months before the partners started to see growth. The market downturn meant not as many companies were hiring, with a particular shrinkage in IT budgets. However, the pair saw it as an opportunity to invest and to prepare for market improvement.

“The economic downturn caused our revenue to decline by about 25 percent in 2008. Although we lost sales volume, we didn’t lose any customers. We were able to maintain our strong reputation,” said Devine.

Fueling growth were two significant decisions made in 2008: building up recruiting and sales teams and abandoning Bridge’s information-security consulting practice. Once Bridge began focusing entirely on the staffing practice with an increase in sales teams, it was able to build more relationships and form more partnerships with other IT professionals.

Bridge grew 49 percent, from $5.5 million in 2010 to $8.2 million in 2011. Wright and Devine attribute the growth in part to hiring well-qualified candidates who uphold Bridge’s values, successfully training them, and by investing back into the business whenever possible. •CEO (or equivalent):

JAMES WRIGHT & JOE DEVINE

2011 REVENUE: $8,986,218

2009 REVENUE: $4,009,144

3-YEAR GROWTH %: 124