typically aren’t out bidding for open ten-
der projects. We’ve made an extra effort
to understand people and companies and
get to know what drives them and form
our services around that.” In and around
Calgary, work primarily consists of people
and companies Smith and the other part-
ners and managers have worked with in
the past. “We’ve gone out and developed
relationships with not only customers but
other businesses that complement our
business,” Smith added, affirming that this
sort of partnership allows Stratus to offer
full solutions to its clients.
Having industry connections bringing in
opportunities has worked well for Stra-
tus; its first year brought $8.3 million in
revenue and the number of employees
jumped to 90 only five months from incep-
tion. Accordingly, Stratus was named one
of the finalists for the Contractor of the
Year Award presented by Alberta Venture
magazine. The company was expecting
to open its first remote office in Fort St.
John in August, but its plans for expansion
don’t stop there. Stratus will be expanding
its footprint across Canada over the next
five years by strategically placing offices
around Alberta, British Columbia and Sas-
katchewan.
Mirroring the company’s growth is the util-
ities market, which continues to be Stra-
tus’s biggest industry. The market has ex-
panded substantially over the past couple
of years. Accordingly, Stratus’s founders
positioned the company strategically in
4
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SEPTEMBER 2016
