Nelson expands in Santa Rosa, opens San Diego branch

SONOMA -- North Bay staffing leader Nelson announced that it will move into a larger space on Cleveland Avenue in Santa Rosa where it will consolidate operations after posting significant growth over the year.

The new, 6,500-square-foot location at 2901 Cleveland Ave. will bring together about 25 employees from one office on Fourth Street near downtown and the other on Round Barn Boulevard. It will house the Nelson & Associates, Nelson Staffing and Nelson Technology divisions of the company. The move is expected to be completed by August.

In addition to expanding operations locally, the company also announced that it will open a San Diego office, with plans to open a second Southern California office near Los Angeles later this year. The Sonoma-based company said it will boost staffing levels to accommodate the growth in both Northern and Southern California.

Nelson anticipates that the new and larger Santa Rosa office will generate up to $12 million in revenue. Nelson's growth was led by Nelson & Associates, the finance and accounting arm of the company, which it said posted 20 percent growth in the first quarter, compared to 12 percent growth in the staffing industry.

"The new office will allow us to consolidate our business units under one roof and better coordinate our services as the job market grows," said Craig Nelson, chief executive officer. He added that the employment picture in the North Bay looked positive, and that Nelson is poised to grow as the jobs picture improved.

"Trends indicate that North Bay growth will be driven by expansion in high tech, engineering, wine, hospitality, real estate and professional services," Mr. Nelson said, citing figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that indicate employment growth of 18,000 jobs in Northern California for 2010 through 2011 in professional business services. Such services are defined as professional, scientific, technical, management and administrative support services.

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