Sotera Investigative Group seeks growth after rebranding

UTICA — A Utica–based investigative firm has formally rebranded as Sotera Investigative Group, LLC following its split from Canada–based Investigative Solutions Network (ISN) and is eyeing steady growth in the future.

Sotera initially opened an office in Utica in March 2017 as ISN, but rebranded in March 2018 after one of the then-owners of ISN bought out a portion of the business to form Sotera Investigative Group, says Francis Manfredo, president of Sotera. The local office and staff remained from ISN when the rebrand took effect. He declined to name Sotera’s owner.

“I think the best way to say it is that at Sotera, nothing changed. Nothing changed except for the ownership and rebranding of the company,” Manfredo tells CNYBJ.

Sotera Investigative Group offers several types of investigative services, including civil, corporate, and criminal, according to its LinkedIn page. Investigators include former law-enforcement officers and certified fire investigators. Clients include lawyers, corporations, and individuals.

The investigations the company handles vary between covert operations and hands-on work, such as fire-scene analysis for insurance companies. In addition to investigations, Sotera also offers different types of training, including sexual harassment and workplace-environment issues, as well as active-shooter situations.

Fire-scene analysis investigations can last weeks to several months, depending on the size of the scene, and cost on average about $150 per hour, Manfredo says. He adds that other types of cases, such as sexual-harassment investigations, usually take a few weeks, and cost about $110 per hour. Sotera handled slightly more than 130 cases from May 2017 to May 2018. 

Currently based in a 2,700-square-foot office space under a five-year lease at 6 Rhoads Drive in the Utica Business Park, Sotera employs 24 people (20 investigators and four-person executive team). It handles cases throughout New York state. Each investigator can have one or more cases at a time, with occasional time between them. 

The company’s executive team is made up of Manfredo; Jeffrey Morgan, director of investigations; Robert Stephens, director of fire investigations; and Tina Pavlot, finance administrator. 

“We have a solid team in place. We have outstanding investigators, they have decades of experience,” Manfredo says. “I think we’re in a really good position to serve our clients with their varying needs.”

Manfredo says the goal of the company is to continue to grow — slowly and steadily. He adds that he hopes to expand first within New York state and then eventually expand to adjoining states, ultimately hiring more employees and moving into a larger office space. He declined to provide the firm’s revenue figures.

Manfredo says he will partner with other companies to maximize efficiency. For example, he says that if he has a client who needs security work, he will ask LB Security and Investigations Inc., also based in Utica, to assist in providing guard service. 

“I’d like to say that we’re unique in the fact that we do all sorts of investigations...We do many types of investigations, we do training,” Manfredo says. “We work very well with human resource departments and corporations and companies on a variety of issues.”

Sotera was slated to hold a formal rebranding ceremony with the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce on June 18 at 4:30 p.m at its office in the Utica Business Park.

UTICA — A Utica–based investigative firm has formally rebranded as Sotera Investigative Group, LLC following its split from Canada–based Investigative Solutions Network (ISN) and is eyeing steady growth in the future.

Sotera initially opened an office in Utica in March 2017 as ISN, but rebranded in March 2018 after one of the then-owners of ISN bought out a portion of the business to form Sotera Investigative Group, says Francis Manfredo, president of Sotera. The local office and staff remained from ISN when the rebrand took effect. He declined to name Sotera’s owner.

“I think the best way to say it is that at Sotera, nothing changed. Nothing changed except for the ownership and rebranding of the company,” Manfredo tells CNYBJ.

Sotera Investigative Group offers several types of investigative services, including civil, corporate, and criminal, according to its LinkedIn page. Investigators include former law-enforcement officers and certified fire investigators. Clients include lawyers, corporations, and individuals.

The investigations the company handles vary between covert operations and hands-on work, such as fire-scene analysis for insurance companies. In addition to investigations, Sotera also offers different types of training, including sexual harassment and workplace-environment issues, as well as active-shooter situations.

Fire-scene analysis investigations can last weeks to several months, depending on the size of the scene, and cost on average about $150 per hour, Manfredo says. He adds that other types of cases, such as sexual-harassment investigations, usually take a few weeks, and cost about $110 per hour. Sotera handled slightly more than 130 cases from May 2017 to May 2018. 

Currently based in a 2,700-square-foot office space under a five-year lease at 6 Rhoads Drive in the Utica Business Park, Sotera employs 24 people (20 investigators and four-person executive team). It handles cases throughout New York state. Each investigator can have one or more cases at a time, with occasional time between them. 

The company’s executive team is made up of Manfredo; Jeffrey Morgan, director of investigations; Robert Stephens, director of fire investigations; and Tina Pavlot, finance administrator. 

“We have a solid team in place. We have outstanding investigators, they have decades of experience,” Manfredo says. “I think we’re in a really good position to serve our clients with their varying needs.”

Manfredo says the goal of the company is to continue to grow — slowly and steadily. He adds that he hopes to expand first within New York state and then eventually expand to adjoining states, ultimately hiring more employees and moving into a larger office space. He declined to provide the firm’s revenue figures.

Manfredo says he will partner with other companies to maximize efficiency. For example, he says that if he has a client who needs security work, he will ask LB Security and Investigations Inc., also based in Utica, to assist in providing guard service. 

“I’d like to say that we’re unique in the fact that we do all sorts of investigations...We do many types of investigations, we do training,” Manfredo says. “We work very well with human resource departments and corporations and companies on a variety of issues.”

Sotera was slated to hold a formal rebranding ceremony with the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce on June 18 at 4:30 p.m at its office in the Utica Business Park.