In Reno, there is a 24-year-old company called WETLAB - Western Environmental Testing Laboratory.
The company analyzes everything from drinking water and soil, to hazardous materials - for clients in Nevada, California, Idaho, and Wyoming.
Nick Ross, our Someone 2 Know started with the company right out of college, and is now part of the leadership team. He recently celebrated 20 years with WETLAB.
We got a behind the scenes look at the lab -
Science is a serious business, and whether or not we all understand the data, all Nevadans benefit from the analytical work being done by Western Environmental Testing Laboratory. "Everything we do is to protect our most valuable resource, which is water.”
Specifically, our drinking water, explains Ross, Operations Manager at WETLAB. "Whether it's a construction project that's going across the lake or the Truckee River or any sort of source of water, you know, they're disrupting dirt, they're disrupting things that can cause contamination, so they have to test what they're doing to help mitigate that and make sure they're in compliance."
Ross has been helping WETLAB do this vital work for the last 20 years. Nick was the sixth person hired when the company was just getting started. "There are now 48 employees, and we still maintain that family atmosphere. We're a really diverse group and we're really proud of that."
As operations manager, Ross says he really enjoys working with such a great team. "My thing is to help empower and develop and so, the next thing is to empower and develop - maybe find a successor in terms of the next generation of WETLAB."
Outside of the lab, Ross and his wife are raising their own next generation. "My daughter is 12. It's an exciting time and a challenging time. It's fun to see her grow and celebrate her victories.”
Ross has a fair amount of his own challenges and victories, too - fun ones! "Yeah, like Tough Mudders, we'll do the Spartan races and things like that."
And he likes to give back...
"I do come from a heavy military family, so we like to support the Veterans Guest House and the work they do here, locally in the Truckee Meadows.”
Ross also supports about half a dozen other non-profits, as well.
As for his career...
"You know I’ve been here for 20 years - 20 years from, now, I’ll be at that retirement age. Not that we're there now, but looking at the next generation of WETLAB employees.”
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