Lab services firm eying FoCo, food safety tech company targeting metro Denver approved for incentives

DENVER — A pair of companies that could be targeting Northern Colorado and the Boulder Valley for new operations, including a laboratory services company looking to expand its early drug and medical device contract research business into Fort Collins, have been approved to receive state tax incentive packages.

The Colorado Economic Development Commission approved the incentives Thursday morning from Project Discovery and Project Linen, pseudonyms for the outfits that could set up shop locally. 

It is the commission’s practice not to identify companies the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade is recruiting until incentives are accepted. That acceptance process often takes six month to a year.

Project Discovery, a rapidly growing provider of laboratory and analytical services to bioscience companies engaged in product discovery and development, was approved for $459,658 in performance-based incentives over an eight-year period in exchange for a pledge to create 28 new jobs that pay an annual average wage of $71,616.

The jobs will include mostly technicians as well as some administrative and management roles, according to an OEDIT memo.

Project Discovery has more than 500 employees, 100 of whom are in Colorado.

It is also considering Missouri and Indiana for its new operations. 

“Time is of the essence and the company seeks to stand up a facility as quickly as possible,” OEDIT business development manager Andrew Trump said. 

Project Linen, based in the Bay Area of California, develops molecular detection technology for food safety, enabling onsite detection of foodborne pathogens.

The company is exploring the possibility of moving its headquarters, research and development, and production facilities to the Denver metropolitan area, which includes Boulder and Broomfield counties. 

The EDC approved $1,448,055 in performance-based incentives for Project Linen, which would have to create 144 new jobs that pay an average of $124,573 annually to receive the tax break.

The jobs will include microbiologists, production and test engineers, sales and marketing, and management positions, according to OEDIT.

Project Linen is seeking to relocate to a region with a “highly educated and talented workforce with a large scientific, technical and professional talent pool, and a more competitive cost of doing business than they currently have in the Bay Area,” Trump said. 

In addition to Projects Linen and Discovery, the commission approved two more incentive packages for companies targeting new operations in Denver. 

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