Olsten Staffing Services history

Olsten began using his Temp-Mobile in 1957 and later replaced it with a radio-equipped van that shuttled temporary workers from suburbia to their assignments in New York City.

In 1965 the company opened its first Canadian office, establishing a branch in Toronto.

Olsten branched out further in 1969, purchasing Rush Laboratories, Inc. through a subsidiary.

The acquisition of the two medical laboratories led to Olsten Corp.’s entry into the market for temporary workers in the health care industry, inaugurated by the creation of Olsten Health Care Services in 1971.

Olsten had not neglected the company’s involvement in health care—opening its first Medicare-certified office in 1983—but Liguori pushed the business headlong into health care, taking the legacy left by Olsten to another level.

By 1984 Olsten’s sales had reached $332 million.

Olsten’s successor was Frank Liguori, a Brooklyn-born butcher’s son who had been president of the company since 1986.

With the opening of offices in Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico in 1987, the company had offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Canada, ranking it as the third largest temporary staffing firm in the United States.

In 1989 Olsten’s sales reached $800 million and the company boasted 520 offices, placing workers in accounting and legal services, as well as secretarial positions.

During 1991 Olsten had implemented programs in sales training for staff and had increased self-advertising in an attempt to further secure business.

Earlier in 1993, Lifetime had been trading at roughly $16 per share when another company, Abbey Healthcare, attempted to purchase it for $23.50 per share.

The following year, the company acquired a stake in a Mexican staffing agency, which subsequently was renamed Olsten STAFF S.A. In 1995 the company moved in several directions, acquiring operations in Argentina, Norway, Denmark, and Germany.

Also in 1996, CIGNA selected Olsten Kimberly QualityCare as sole-source provider of home health care services for nearly ten million managed care participants nationwide, the type of full-service partnerships with large clients that Liguori was seeking.

Sales at Olsten Staffing Services increased 20 percent in 1998, rising to $3.55 billion.