A Utah medical-testing laboratory is winding up a $13 million expansion of its operations -- one expected to result in the company hiring an additional 75 to 100 employees through the end of this year.

Nelson Laboratories, which currently employs about 320 scientists and staff at its facilities in Taylorsville, launched the expansion in mid-2008. It built a new 50,000-square-foot building that added to its existing 62,000-square-foot lab and testing facility.

"For all intents and purposes we are done with our expansion, except for maybe touching up the paint and a few other minor details," said Jeffrey Nelson, the company's president and CEO.

Founded in 1985, Nelson Labs provides more than 400 microbiological and analytical tests for its clients. Much of its work is directed at helping its client companies get the data necessary to secure and maintain regulatory approval for the marketing of their products.

Nelson Labs is a "excellent example" of the health of the technology sector of the Utah economy, said Richard Nelson, chief executive of the Utah Technology Council. "It reflects well on the state."

Although Jeffrey Nelson is not related to Richard Nelson of the UTC, he does serve on that organization's board of directors.

Faced with space constraints due to its continuing growth, Nelson Labs launched its expansion just as the nation's economy was beginning to slow.

"It was a scary time to do an expansion, but we had some good cash reserves, and U.S. Bank stepped forward and partnered with us to help get the project completed," Jeffrey Nelson said.

Nelson Labs also received a commitment in 2008 from the Governor's Office of Economic Development Board for nearly $2 million in state tax credits that will be available through 2018. The cash will help the company purchase new equipment and expand.

"We are grateful the state saw us as a company with a good upside potential," he added.

The company will be able to earn that tax credit by hiring 350 new full-time employees over that 10-year time period and paying them 125 percent of the average wage in Salt Lake County. Last year, that average wage was $41,000.

Although the company saw a downturn in business due to the recession, Jeffrey Nelson said it since has started to pick back up. And he is confident that adding 350 employees through 2018 is doable.

The company counts among its employees more than 130 scientists and nearly 60 registered microbiologists. Since its founding, the company has doubled the number of its employees, on average, every five years.

Spencer Eccles, executive director of GOED, described Nelson Labs as a home-grown company that traces some of the technology it uses back to the University of Utah.

"It is a great story. It is a company that continues to expand and its reach and influence now goes well beyond Utah."

steve@sltrib.com