diff --git a/.github/workflows/conda-package.yml b/.github/workflows/conda-package.yml
index b11072e..d4e7e69 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/conda-package.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/conda-package.yml
@@ -55,6 +55,12 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install conda-build
         run: conda install conda-build
 
+      - name: Store conda paths as envs
+        shell: bash -el {0}
+        run: |
+          echo "CONDA_BLD=/usr/share/miniconda/conda-bld/linux-64/" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          echo "WHEELS_OUTPUT_FOLDER=$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+
       - name: Build conda package
         run: |
           CHANNELS="-c conda-forge -c https://software.repos.intel.com/python/conda --override-channels"
@@ -71,7 +77,13 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@ea165f8d65b6e75b540449e92b4886f43607fa02 # v4.6.2
         with:
           name: ${{ env.PACKAGE_NAME }} ${{ runner.os }} Python ${{ matrix.python }}
-          path: /usr/share/miniconda/conda-bld/linux-64/${{ env.PACKAGE_NAME }}-*.conda
+          path: ${{ env.CONDA_BLD }}${{ env.PACKAGE_NAME }}-*.conda
+
+      - name: Upload wheels artifact
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@ea165f8d65b6e75b540449e92b4886f43607fa02 # v4.6.2
+        with:
+          name: ${{ env.PACKAGE_NAME }} ${{ runner.os }} Wheels Python ${{ matrix.python }}
+          path: ${{ env.WHEELS_OUTPUT_FOLDER }}mkl_service-*.whl
 
   build_windows:
     runs-on: windows-latest
@@ -79,8 +91,6 @@ jobs:
     strategy:
       matrix:
         python: ['3.9', '3.10', '3.11', '3.12', '3.13']
-    env:
-      conda-bld: C:\Miniconda\conda-bld\win-64\
 
     steps:
       - name: Cancel Previous Runs
@@ -115,6 +125,12 @@ jobs:
       - name: Setup MSVC
         uses: ilammy/msvc-dev-cmd@0b201ec74fa43914dc39ae48a89fd1d8cb592756 # v1.13.0
 
+      - name: Store conda paths as envs
+        shell: bash -el {0}
+        run: |
+          echo "CONDA_BLD=C:\\Miniconda\\conda-bld\\win-64\\" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          echo "WHEELS_OUTPUT_FOLDER=$GITHUB_WORKSPACE\\" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+
       - name: Build conda package
         run: conda build --no-test --python ${{ matrix.python }} -c https://software.repos.intel.com/python/conda -c conda-forge --override-channels conda-recipe
 
@@ -122,7 +138,13 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@ea165f8d65b6e75b540449e92b4886f43607fa02 # v4.6.2
         with:
           name: ${{ env.PACKAGE_NAME }} ${{ runner.os }} Python ${{ matrix.python }}
-          path: ${{ env.conda-bld }}${{ env.PACKAGE_NAME }}-*.conda
+          path: ${{ env.CONDA_BLD }}${{ env.PACKAGE_NAME }}-*.conda
+
+      - name: Upload wheels artifact
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@ea165f8d65b6e75b540449e92b4886f43607fa02 # v4.6.2
+        with:
+          name: ${{ env.PACKAGE_NAME }} ${{ runner.os }} Wheels Python ${{ matrix.python }}
+          path: ${{ env.WHEELS_OUTPUT_FOLDER }}mkl_service-*.whl
 
   test_linux:
     needs: build_linux
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 568f496..7847984 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,7 +4,12 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
-## [2.5.0] (05/DD/2025)
+## [2.5.1] (06/27/2025)
+
+### Fixed
+* Resolved import issue in the virtual environment which broke loading of MKL libs [gh-85](github.com/IntelPython/mkl-service/pull/85)
+
+## [2.5.0] (06/03/2025)
 
 ### Added
 * Added support for python 3.13 [gh-72](github.com/IntelPython/mkl-service/pull/72)
diff --git a/conda-recipe/bld.bat b/conda-recipe/bld.bat
index 0eddfe9..90a55f4 100644
--- a/conda-recipe/bld.bat
+++ b/conda-recipe/bld.bat
@@ -1,6 +1,32 @@
-
-@rem Remember to activate compiler, if needed
+echo on
+rem set CFLAGS=-I%PREFIX%\Library\include %CFLAGS%
+rem set LDFLAGS=/LIBPATH:%PREFIX% %LDFLAGS%
 
 set MKLROOT=%CONDA_PREFIX%
-%PYTHON% -m pip install --no-build-isolation --no-deps .
-if errorlevel 1 exit 1
+
+"%PYTHON%" setup.py clean --all
+
+:: Make CMake verbose
+set "VERBOSE=1"
+
+:: -wnx flags mean: --wheel --no-isolation --skip-dependency-check
+%PYTHON% -m build -w -n -x
+if %ERRORLEVEL% neq 0 exit 1
+
+:: wheel file was renamed
+for /f %%f in ('dir /b /S .\dist') do (
+  %PYTHON% -m pip install %%f ^
+    --no-build-isolation ^
+    --no-deps ^
+    --only-binary :all: ^
+    --no-index ^
+    --prefix %PREFIX% ^
+    -vv
+  if %ERRORLEVEL% neq 0 exit 1
+)
+
+:: Copy wheel package
+if NOT "%WHEELS_OUTPUT_FOLDER%"=="" (
+  copy dist\mkl_service*.whl %WHEELS_OUTPUT_FOLDER%
+  if %ERRORLEVEL% neq 0 exit 1
+)
diff --git a/conda-recipe/build.sh b/conda-recipe/build.sh
index df09449..6bfa533 100644
--- a/conda-recipe/build.sh
+++ b/conda-recipe/build.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,32 @@
-#!/bin/bash -x
+#!/bin/bash
+set -ex
 
-# make sure that compiler has been sourced, if necessary
+export MKLROOT=$CONDA_PREFIX
 
-MKLROOT=$CONDA_PREFIX $PYTHON -m pip install --no-build-isolation --no-deps .
+read -r GLIBC_MAJOR GLIBC_MINOR <<<"$(conda list '^sysroot_linux-64$' \
+    | tail -n 1 | awk '{print $2}' | grep -oP '\d+' | head -n 2 | tr '\n' ' ')"
+
+${PYTHON} setup.py clean --all
+
+# Make CMake verbose
+export VERBOSE=1
+
+# -wnx flags mean: --wheel --no-isolation --skip-dependency-check
+${PYTHON} -m build -w -n -x
+
+${PYTHON} -m wheel tags --remove \
+    --platform-tag "manylinux_${GLIBC_MAJOR}_${GLIBC_MINOR}_x86_64" \
+    dist/mkl_service*.whl
+
+${PYTHON} -m pip install dist/mkl_service*.whl \
+    --no-build-isolation \
+    --no-deps \
+    --only-binary :all: \
+    --no-index \
+    --prefix "${PREFIX}" \
+    -vv
+
+# Copy wheel package
+if [[ -d "${WHEELS_OUTPUT_FOLDER}" ]]; then
+    cp dist/mkl_service*.whl "${WHEELS_OUTPUT_FOLDER[@]}"
+fi
diff --git a/conda-recipe/conda_build_config.yaml b/conda-recipe/conda_build_config.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d4b34a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/conda-recipe/conda_build_config.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+c_compiler:                   # [linux]
+    - gcc                     # [linux]
+cxx_compiler:                 # [linux]
+    - gxx                     # [linux]
+cxx_compiler_version:         # [linux]
+    - '14'                    # [linux]
+c_stdlib:                     # [linux]
+    - sysroot                 # [linux]
+c_stdlib_version:             # [linux]
+    - '2.28'                  # [linux]
+c_stdlib:                     # [win]
+    - vs                      # [win]
+cxx_compiler:                 # [win]
+    - vs2022                  # [win]
+c_compiler:                   # [win]
+    - vs2022                  # [win]
diff --git a/conda-recipe/meta.yaml b/conda-recipe/meta.yaml
index 33c683a..259158a 100644
--- a/conda-recipe/meta.yaml
+++ b/conda-recipe/meta.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{% set version = "2.5.0" %}
+{% set version = "2.5.1" %}
 {% set buildnumber = 0 %}
 
 package:
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ source:
 
 build:
     number: {{ buildnumber }}
+    script_env:
+      - WHEELS_OUTPUT_FOLDER
     ignore_run_exports:
       - blas
       - mkl-service
@@ -17,14 +19,18 @@ build:
 requirements:
     build:
       - {{ compiler('c') }}
+      - {{ stdlib('c') }}
     host:
       - python
+      - pip >=25.0
       - setuptools >=77
       - mkl-devel
       - cython
+      - wheel >=0.45.1
+      - python-build >=1.2.2
     run:
       - python
-      - mkl
+      - {{ pin_compatible('mkl') }}
 
 test:
     requires:
diff --git a/mkl/_version.py b/mkl/_version.py
index 50062f8..7a2056f 100644
--- a/mkl/_version.py
+++ b/mkl/_version.py
@@ -1 +1 @@
-__version__ = "2.5.0"
+__version__ = "2.5.1"
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 2efd692..f8c4837 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 
 [build-system]
 build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
-requires = ["setuptools>=77", "Cython"]
+requires = ["setuptools>=77", "Cython", "wheel>=0.45.1", "build>=1.2.2"]
 
 [project]
 authors = [
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index b5fcc2b..23bac56 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 
 
 import os
+import sys
 from os.path import join
 
 import Cython.Build
@@ -42,9 +43,13 @@ def extensions():
     else:
         raise ValueError("MKLROOT environment variable not set.")
 
+    if sys.platform != "win32":
+        mkl_info["rpaths"] = ["$ORIGIN/../..", "$ORIGIN/../../.."]
+
     mkl_include_dirs = mkl_info.get("include_dirs", [])
     mkl_library_dirs = mkl_info.get("library_dirs", [])
     mkl_libraries = mkl_info.get("libraries", ["mkl_rt"])
+    mkl_rpaths = mkl_info.get("rpaths", [])
 
     defs = []
     if any(["mkl_rt" in li for li in mkl_libraries]):
@@ -59,6 +64,7 @@ def extensions():
             include_dirs=mkl_include_dirs,
             libraries=mkl_libraries + (["pthread"] if os.name == "posix" else []),
             library_dirs=mkl_library_dirs,
+            runtime_library_dirs=mkl_rpaths,
             extra_compile_args=[
                 "-DNDEBUG"
                 # "-g", "-O2", "-Wall",
@@ -74,6 +80,7 @@ def extensions():
             include_dirs=mkl_include_dirs,
             library_dirs=mkl_library_dirs,
             libraries=mkl_libraries,
+            runtime_library_dirs=mkl_rpaths,
             extra_compile_args=[
                 "-DNDEBUG"
                 # "-g", "-O2", "-Wall",