Aalto Scientific, a California biotechnology company that provides human and animal sera, and human protein to the medical diagnostics industry, will create 80 jobs in Putnam County when it moves its headquarters to Georgia next year.

Construction on the $9 million facility in Eatonton began in January. It is on 26 acres in Rock Eagle Technology Park, a 150-acre development park.

Aalto manufactures human sera- and animal sera-based materials used by biotech and biomedical companies, and educational institutions, to test the quality of products. The company will be joining more than 400 life science companies in the state, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

Aalto owner Steve Mauro has said the move to Georgia will improve logistics, turn-around-time for the company’s in vitro diagnostic products and capacity.

After the plant is completed, Aalto said it will shift production from Carlsbad, Calif., to Eatonton over the following 12 to 18 months, a transition that is expected to be completed in early 2016. The jobs creation was announced by the Governor’s Office on Thursday.

The operations in Eatonton, about an hour southeast of Atlanta, will include a 76,000-square-foot production and warehouse facility and a 15,000-square-foot space to house its AUDIT MicroControlstm Inc. subsidiary. The unit produces daily quality control and calibration verification materials to clinical laboratories.

The Aalto facility will be the first project in Rock Eagle Technology Park, a development on Madison Road.