THOMSON --- A medical firm with international ties will build a research and development center in Thomson that will create 50 jobs.

Reliant Medical Services Inc. will build a 25,000-square-foot facility on eight acres in Mount Pleasant Industrial Park, said Mike Carrington, the director of Forward McDuffie Industrial Development Authority.

Officials hope to break ground in three to four weeks and plan to open by the end of the year, he said.

"We've been hoping that this would come about for the past several months," Mr. Carrington said.

Anwar Mithavayani, the president and chief executive of the Pompano Beach, Fla.-based company, said in a statement that the center will help the company meet the needs of a larger customer base and keep its standards of service.

The marketplace of medical imaging technology "has become very competitive," with doctors, hospitals and diagnostic clinics desiring the "most advanced machines with the most cost-effective solutions," Mr. Mithavayani said.

"This is the first stage of what will become a medical park that deals with imaging equipment," the chief executive said.

The facility, which will develop and test new digital X-ray and MRI products, will enable Reliant to expand its lineup of diagnostic imaging equipment, both new and refurbished, Mr. Mithavayani said.

"The jobs that this firm plans to create aren't just your $10 an hour paying warehouse jobs," Mr. Carrington said. "They are high-tech jobs, paying big bucks."

Reliant began operations in 1999 and has become one of the top medical equipment service and support companies in the United States, Mr. Mithavayani said.

In the past three years, Reliant has expanded its operations from the Southeast to a nationwide level in sales, leasing, service and product development.