‘Ensuring science is uncompromised’: Nelson Labs celebrates 40 years in Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Nelson Labs, a global leader in microbiological and analytical chemistry testing, celebrated 40 years in Salt Lake City on Oct. 1.

“Forty years ago, Nelson Labs started in Salt Lake City with a simple promise: if a device touches a patient, its safety should be proven beyond doubt,” said Joe Shrawder, President of Nelson Labs. “That purpose still guides us as we help innovators bring therapies to market, validate sterilization and raise the bar for quality worldwide. Our continued investment here, including our new cleanroom expansion, reflects our confidence in Utah’s life‑sciences ecosystem and our responsibility to protect patients everywhere.”

Nelson Labs shared that they welcomed over a hundred guests to the celebration. President and CEO of BioUtah, Kelvyn Cullimore, spoke to the guests on Nelson’s growth over the past 40 years and the future of the medical device and pharmaceutical industries in the Beehive state.

Founded in 1985, Nelson Labs said that the company now serves more than 3,000 customers across 12 facilities in the United States, Mexico, Asia and Europe. The services have expanded to help meet emerging industry needs.

“Across four decades, our teams have advanced methods from extractables and leachables to packaging integrity, supported thousands of customers on every continent where we operate and helped strengthen the standards that industry and regulators rely on,” said Joe. “Scaling from one Utah lab to a global network while ensuring science is uncompromised, that’s the accomplishment we’re most proud of and it’s what the next 40 years will build on.”

Additionally, Nelson Labs recently broke ground on a cleanroom expansion at its Salt Lake City campus. The company said that the project is designed to significantly increase ISO‑classified cleanroom capacity and meet demand for independent sterility assurance testing.