LANSING and BAY CITY, Mich. — Viridis Laboratories more than doubled its staff in the last year and a half and continues to grow as Michigan’s leading provider of cannabis safety testing. That growth has continued despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020.

Viridis has hired 25 new employees since the start of 2020, including 11 new hires in 2021. So far this year, Viridis has brought on four field technicians and five lab technicians along with a scientist and support specialist. The company continues to expand, and is looking to hire additional field technicians, laboratory technicians and scientists at its Lansing and Bay City locations.

“Viridis offers wonderful opportunities for scientists and technicians to work with cutting-edge technology in an exciting, burgeoning industry,” said Todd Welch, chief operating officer at Viridis. “We’re expanding to meet the growing needs of our customers to help ensure all Michiganders have access to safe, high-quality cannabis products. We’re particularly proud to continue creating new jobs despite the difficulties of the past year and a half during the COVID19 pandemic.”

Building upon the founders’ experience leading forensic science and toxicology operations for the Michigan State Police, the Viridis team utilizes state-of-the-art methods to collect and test nearly 70% of the adult-use and medicinal cannabis products in Michigan.

Field technicians work directly with cannabis manufacturers to ensure samples are collected properly to prevent cross-contamination prior to the samples arriving at the lab for a variety of testing — including potency, microbial and terpene analyses.

“At Viridis, we’re not just co-workers, we are a big family dedicated to consumer and product safety,” said Kaitlyn Guerrero, heavy metal scientist at Viridis. “It’s exciting to be part of a cutting-edge cannabis company with growth opportunities for women in this burgeoning industry.”

Viridis employs more than 40 highly trained technicians, scientists and support staff members at its Bay City and Lansing labs. Nearly half of the current employees have developed into different departments or have been promoted within Viridis.