Fishers-based quality-control firm plans to add 250 workers

Stratosphere Quality LLC, a quality-control company focused on the auto industry, said on Wednesday morning that it plans to invest $3.7 million to expand its Fishers headquarters, a move it said would create up to 250 jobs by 2020.

The company, founded in 2009, has been growing at a blistering rate. Stratosphere's revenue reached $122 million in 2016, and it now employs 2,200 workers in North America, including nearly 600 in Indiana. The firm inspects products and plant processes and helps manufacturers eliminate defects.

“Indiana is a great place for a growing company, and is home to a friendly business environment with a good pool of talented workers,” CEO Tom Gray said in a statement. “Our employees have played a large role in our success and growth as a company. Our hiring and training practices are the fundamentals of excellent service delivery to our customers, and we have sincerely appreciated the state’s assistance with our efforts.”

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Stratosphere up to $800,000 in tax credits and up to $200,000 in training grants based on its job-creation plans. The incentives are performance-based, meaning the company can't claim them until workers are hired.

Stratosphere said it will remain headquartered at 2024 Exit Five Parkway, where it occupies 46,000 square feet. The $3.7 million investment will add break rooms, upgrade office space and bolster training facilities.

This is Stratosphere's second major expansion announcement in recent years. In 2012, the company said it would invest $2.6 million into its Fishers headquarters and add 225 workers, a hiring goal it exceeded.

The company was launched by entrepreneur Steve Cage, who in 2004 sold a similar company—Product Action International—to a venture capital firm. Product Action abruptly went out of business in 2009, prompting Cage to found Stratosphere.