Elwood Staffing

Elwood Staffing is a privately held American staffing company headquartered in Columbus, Indiana. It connects job seekers with employers through temporary staffing, temporary-to-hire placements, contract staffing, direct placement, professional recruitment, and payrolling services. Its customer base spans industrial, manufacturing, warehouse and distribution, administrative, customer-service, construction, engineering, information-technology, and business-management roles. The company began in 1980 as Elwood Consulting, founded by David L. Elwood, Ph.D. The original business supported his private psychology practice by providing pre-employment testing and employee-opinion surveys. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the firm broadened its employment-related services to include interviewing, skills testing, drug screening, and other hiring-support activities. This expansion responded to client demand for a more complete workforce-screening and recruitment service rather than a single testing product. Elwood entered temporary staffing in 1994 and subsequently organized its operating philosophy around five stated beliefs: Quality, Progress, Responsiveness, Flexibility, and Relationships. The business incorporated as Elwood Consulting Company, Inc. in 1995 and reported reaching $1 million in sales in 1996. In 1997, it adopted the Elwood Staffing name to signal that staffing had become its principal business. Beginning in 2001, Elwood pursued expansion through strategic acquisitions. The 2013 purchase of SOS Employment Group was a major step in extending its geographic coverage and national operating footprint. Further acquisitions in 2023 included IES Custom Staffing Solutions, Advanced Personnel, and NAOS Staffing, adding or strengthening operations in Idaho, Utah, Kansas, Missouri, and the southern United States. In 2024, Elwood acquired BelFlex Staffing Network, adding 26 branches across 19 new markets in the Midwest and Southeast. Elwood operates through three principal business lines. Elwood Staffing handles broad-based temporary, temporary-to-hire, contract, and direct-hire recruitment, including administrative and clerical work, customer service, manufacturing and production, and warehouse and distribution. Elwood Professional focuses on engineering, information technology, and business-management professionals, including mid-level, vice-presidential, and executive searches. Skill Staff supplies contingent labor for construction and manufacturing trades. The company maintains branch offices and on-site staffing locations throughout the United States. Reference material describes the business as having nearly 1,000 permanent full-time employees, 210 branches, and 67 on-site locations as of early 2026. The same material estimates that it supports nearly 18,000 temporary associates each day and works with more than 6,000 client companies annually. Those scale and ranking figures are time-specific estimates rather than independently verified current metrics. Elwood is described in the reference material as the eighth-largest industrial staffing firm and the 31st-largest staffing firm overall in the United States.

Elwood Staffing traces its origins to 1980, when David L. Elwood, Ph.D., established Elwood Consulting in Columbus, Indiana. The initial operation was connected to Elwood's private psychology practice and concentrated on pre-employment testing and employee-opinion surveys. Rather than remaining a narrowly defined assessment provider, the firm expanded during the late 1980s and early 1990s into interviewing, skills testing, drug screening, and related employment-support services. A decisive change came in 1994, when the company began offering temporary staffing. This move shifted the business from advising employers about hiring and assessment toward directly supplying workers and managing employment placements. Around this period, Elwood articulated five core beliefs—Quality, Progress, Responsiveness, Flexibility, and Relationships—which became part of its stated organizational identity. The company incorporated as Elwood Consulting Company, Inc. in 1995 and reached $1 million in sales in 1996. In 1997, it adopted the Elwood Staffing name to reflect the centrality of staffing to its business. From 2001 onward, the company used acquisitions as a principal growth mechanism. The 2013 acquisition of SOS Employment Group materially broadened its national footprint. Elwood later continued this approach through acquisitions completed in 2023, including IES Custom Staffing Solutions, Advanced Personnel, and NAOS Staffing. These transactions strengthened coverage in Idaho, Utah, Kansas, Missouri, and the southern United States. In 2024, Elwood acquired BelFlex Staffing Network, adding 26 branches and entering 19 additional markets in the Midwest and Southeast. The resulting organization operates through three main divisions. Elwood Staffing provides general temporary, temporary-to-hire, contract, and direct-hire services across administrative, customer-service, manufacturing, production, warehouse, and distribution occupations. Elwood Professional recruits engineering, information-technology, and business-management professionals for mid-career through executive roles. Skill Staff supplies contingent labor for construction and manufacturing trades. The company remains privately held and operates a network of offices and on-site locations across the United States. Reference material available for this entry describes approximately 210 branches, 67 on-site locations, nearly 1,000 permanent full-time employees, nearly 18,000 temporary associates working daily, and more than 6,000 client companies served annually as of early 2026. These figures are presented as time-specific reference estimates. Elwood's development illustrates the evolution of a regional psychological and employment-testing consultancy into a diversified national staffing platform built around branch operations, specialized recruiting, on-site workforce management, and acquisition-led geographic expansion.

1. 2024BelFlex Staffing Network acquired

   The acquisition added 26 branch locations across 19 new Midwest and Southeast markets.

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2. 2023Three staffing acquisitions completed

   Elwood acquired IES Custom Staffing Solutions, Advanced Personnel, and NAOS Staffing, strengthening its presence in several western, central, and southern states.

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3. 2013SOS Employment Group acquired

   The acquisition substantially expanded Elwood's national staffing footprint.

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4. 2001Acquisition-led expansion begins

   Elwood Staffing began pursuing significant growth through strategic acquisitions.

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5. 1997Elwood Staffing name adopted

   The company rebranded as Elwood Staffing to better represent its primary staffing focus.

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6. 1995Incorporation

   The business incorporated as Elwood Consulting Company, Inc.

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7. 1994Entry into temporary staffing

   The company began offering temporary staffing services and established five stated core beliefs: Quality, Progress, Responsiveness, Flexibility, and Relationships.

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8. 1980Elwood Consulting founded

   David L. Elwood, Ph.D., founded Elwood Consulting in Columbus, Indiana, initially providing pre-employment testing and employee-opinion surveys.

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A nationwide, privately held workforce-solutions provider combining high-volume industrial staffing with professional recruitment and trade-focused contingent labor. Its stated operating emphasis is on quality, progress, responsiveness, flexibility, and long-term relationships.

• Elwood StaffingGeneral staffing1997

  The company's broad-based staffing division supplies temporary, temporary-to-hire, contract, and direct-hire workers. Its coverage includes administrative and clerical functions, customer service, manufacturing and production, and warehouse and distribution operations.

• Elwood ProfessionalProfessional recruitment

  Elwood Professional recruits and places engineering, information-technology, and business-management professionals. The division works on mid-level, vice-presidential, and executive opportunities rather than focusing exclusively on high-volume hourly placements.

• Skill StaffSkilled trades staffing

  Skill Staff provides contingent workers for construction and manufacturing trades, extending Elwood's offering into skilled and trade-oriented labor markets.

• Payrolling servicesWorkforce administration

  Elwood provides payrolling as part of its workforce-services portfolio, supporting the administrative handling of workers engaged through client staffing arrangements.

• 2024Acquire BelFlex Staffing NetworkM&A

  Elwood continued expanding its branch network and geographic reach through acquisitions.

  What changed. Elwood acquired BelFlex Staffing Network.

  Aftermath. The acquisition added 26 branches across 19 new markets in the Midwest and Southeast.

  Source
• 2013Acquire SOS Employment GroupM&A

  Elwood had pursued acquisition-led expansion since 2001.

  What changed. The company acquired SOS Employment Group.

  Aftermath. The transaction substantially increased Elwood's national footprint.

  Source
• 1997Rebrand as Elwood StaffingStrategy

  The company's operating emphasis had shifted from consulting and testing toward staffing services.

  What changed. Elwood Consulting adopted the Elwood Staffing brand.

  Aftermath. The new name more clearly positioned the company as a staffing provider.

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• 1994Enter the temporary staffing marketStrategy

  Elwood Consulting had developed from testing and employment-support services into a broader hiring-services provider.

  What changed. The company added temporary staffing to its service portfolio and began moving toward a full staffing model.

  Aftermath. Staffing became the company's principal business and later led to the adoption of the Elwood Staffing name.

  Source

• 2024Elwood Staffing acquires BelFlex Staffing Network

  The transaction added 26 branch locations across 19 new markets in the Midwest and Southeast.

  M&A
  Source
• 2023Elwood Staffing acquires IES Custom Staffing Solutions, Advanced Personnel, and NAOS Staffing

  The acquisitions expanded Elwood Staffing's presence in Idaho, Utah, Kansas, Missouri, and the southern United States.

  M&A
  Source

1. Elwood Staffing