Your specialist for lab containers · Rhine-Main pharma cluster

Lab containers Frankfurt – GMP laboratories for Höchst and Rhine-Main

Name: Planexus GmbH
Address: Am Steinbach 8, Albstadt-Laufen, Baden-Württemberg, 72459, DE
Telephone: +49 7435 7519 700
Price range: €€€

Our managing directors bring more than ten years of experience in lab-container construction. Modular, HBO-compliant, pharma-capable. We deliver flexible research environments for pharma and chemicals at Industriepark Höchst, university medicine, universities and research institutes in the Rhine-Main region — from the Albstadt works straight to Frankfurt, via the A81 / A8 / A5.

While others are still planning, you are already researching.

Complimentary site audit Frankfurt +49 7435 7519 700

Specialist in modular laboratory construction

Award 2026 EU Business News

HBO Section 63 building notification included

Wesemann Group · 60+ years of laboratory construction

Technically responsible

Planexus Engineering Team · Location ownership Frankfurt

Content is owned by the Planexus engineering team — civil engineers, process engineers and laboratory planners with specialised experience in modular laboratory construction. Planexus GmbH is part of Wesemann Holding GmbH and delivers BSL-2, BSL-3, GMP and ATEX containers for pharma, biotech, research and crisis units across DACH.

HQ: Albstadt, BW Plant: Am Steinbach 8, 72459 Albstadt Award: German CEO Excellence Award 2026 Last technical review: April 2026

Pattern interrupt · World premiere at analytica 2026

Planexus shows Frankfurt what a lab container in 2026 can really do

A conventional lab container has 2,400 mm internal height. You can stand up inside — but working upright at a fume cupboard is barely possible.

Planexus LABtoGO has 2,750 mm internal height. 9.5 m external length. 3 m external width. A fully glazed front that brings real daylight into every Frankfurt pharma, hospital or research laboratory.

A conventional lab container fits entirely inside a LABtoGO. We do not call it LABtoGO without reason — it is the platform on which we configure BSL-2, BSL-3, GMP cleanroom to EU Annex 1, ATEX zoning for solvents and HVAC packages for the inner-city heat island for Frankfurt.

2.750

mm internal height

Standard: 2,400 mm

9.500

mm external length

3,000 mm width

100%

fully glazed

daylight laboratory

U 0.20

W/m²K Sandwich

80–120 mm insulation

View the LABtoGO platform and all configurations

Planexus solves the three Frankfurt bottlenecks at which laboratory projects regularly fail

The inner-city heat island destroys standard HVAC in summer

Frankfurt is Germany’s driest major city with only 700 mm of precipitation per year and a rising number of tropical days above 30 °C. Standard climate splits for office containers cannot handle the load peaks for ISO 14644 cleanroom classes or PCR diagnostics — equipment fails, validations break, studies are lost.

Planexus response: HVAC package with redundant cooling capacity, solar-control glazing and external shading configured at the factory.

Industriepark Höchst – internal site permit alongside HBO

Siting in Industriepark Höchst (460 ha, 22,000 employees, 90+ companies) runs a dual permit path: HBO building notification to Frankfurt building control AND internal release by the site operator for works-railway connection, services connection and fire protection. Anyone who serves only one path waits two months.

Planexus response: Dual application track in parallel, interface to the site operator from day 1.

Rhine-Main pharma demands GMP, ATEX and BSL from one platform

Pharma and chemicals sites at Industriepark Höchst, in Darmstadt (30 km), Mainz (40 km) and Ingelheim demand a supply spectrum from a single source: GMP cleanroom to EU Annex 1, ATEX zoning 1/21 for solvents, BSL-2/-3 to BioStoffV and IQ/OQ/PQ documentation. Coordinating three manufacturers means four weeks of delay per handover.

Planexus response: One LABtoGO platform, all four configurations, one contact.

Lab containers for Frankfurt: what the Rhine-Main pharma cluster, the heat island and Industriepark Höchst demand of the engineering

Frankfurt is Germany’s strongest pharma cluster by value added. Across 248 square kilometres and 16 local districts, the banking city competes with Industriepark Höchst (460 hectares, more than 22,000 employees, 90+ companies), a university hospital in Niederrad with numerous clinics and institutes, a research-intensive university with the Westend, Riedberg and Niederrad campuses and around 45,000 students, and several basic-research institutes on the Riedberg campus for land, permits and engineering capacity. Within a 60-kilometre radius sit large pharma and chemicals sites in Darmstadt, Mainz and Ingelheim. Anyone ordering a container laboratory here is not buying a standard product — they are buying site intelligence for the German-speaking pharma corridor with the highest research and production density.

We know this market in detail. We know that Frankfurt am Main building control at Kurt-Schumacher-Straße 10 decides under HBO 2018 and that Section 63 defines procedure-exempt works. We know that the Frankfurt-Osthafen gauge with zero +88.757 m NN has been observed for decades and that the January 2003 flood at 4.49 m marked the high since 1990. We know that with 700 mm annual precipitation Frankfurt is Germany’s driest major city and under DIN EN ISO 12944-2 falls into corrosivity category C3 — but with the highest heat-island load of any German top location. We know that siting in Industriepark Höchst only works via the dual permit of HBO building control plus release by the site operator. These details are not in our quotation — they are the engineering foundation of every container that leaves our Albstadt works.

Made in Albstadt, turnkey in Frankfurt. Final assembly and interior fit-out are carried out with Wesemann furniture at our own works — a factory visit can be planned from either side. North on the A81 via Stuttgart, west on the A8 to Karlsruhe and north on the A5 into the Rhine-Main region, the heavy-goods distance is around 320 kilometres; the Frankfurt-Süd (A5/A648), Frankfurt interchange (A5/A3) and Frankfurt-Nordwestkreuz (A5/A66) junctions are standard delivery points for Niederrad, Westend, Industriepark Höchst and the Riedberg campus.

Whether you need a mobile laboratory Frankfurt for a time-limited refurbishment phase at a university hospital, a modular lab container Frankfurt for a permanent pharma expansion at Industriepark Höchst, or a container laboratory Frankfurt with BSL-3 containment for university-medical research — we deliver all three answers from the same platform: the LABtoGO from our Albstadt works.

Frankfurt applications

Eight applications for lab containers in Frankfurt

Each area with a concrete Frankfurt site and industry reference.

Pharma pilot production

Industriepark Höchst (65926), GMP cleanroom EU Annex 1, ATEX zoning 1/21 for API synthesis

University medicine

University hospital in Niederrad, numerous clinics and institutes, BSL-2 study containers during refurbishment

Basic research Riedberg

Basic-research institutes on Riedberg, third-party-funded containers, S2 GenTG notification to RP Darmstadt

University research Riedberg

Natural sciences, pharmacy, biochemistry – BSL-2 third-party funding, cleanroom to research-funding conditions

Pharma and materials Darmstadt

Chemicals and pharma site in Darmstadt (30 km), performance materials, life science, GMP pilot

Biotech Mainz

Biotech site in Mainz (40 km), mRNA technology, BSL-2/-3, cleanroom expansion

FRA cargo-hub QC

Frankfurt Airport cargo, Europe’s largest pharma logistics hub, GDP-compliant sampling analytics

Environmental and water analytics

Main riverbank, industrial park, municipal utilities – DAkkS-accredited drinking-water and wastewater analytics

Is your application not listed? We also develop custom modules well beyond the standard.

Request a custom solution for Frankfurt

Six engineering disciplines for the Rhine-Main pharma cluster

Planexus builds lab containers for Frankfurt that are tuned in every discipline to Rhine-Main realities — not generic, but campus- and works-specific.

Heat-island HVAC

Redundant cooling capacity + solar control

Frankfurt records the highest tropical-day load of German major cities. Standard climate splits die in August. We supply units sized for ISO 14644 class 5–7 cleanrooms even at 38 °C outdoor temperature, with n+1 redundancy.

Corrosion protection

C3 urban, optional C4 industrial park

DIN EN ISO 12944-2 assigns Frankfurt city districts to corrosivity category C3. For Industriepark Höchst and harbour sites we optionally supply C4 with duplex coating against solvent-bearing atmosphere.

BSL-2/-3 containment

Negative-pressure cascade −50 Pa

BioStoffV, TRBA 100, HEPA H14 on the extract-air path, autoclaved airlocks. For university medicine and research institutes on Riedberg: GenTG notification to the Darmstadt Regional Council — we supply the application documents.

GMP and pharma

EU Annex 1 + IQ/OQ/PQ

Pharma pilot production for the Rhine-Main pharma cluster, clinical trial samples for contract researchers, cleanroom to ISO 14644 class 5–7 under the EU GMP Guide.

ATEX Höchst

Zone 1/21 to EN 60079

Industriepark Höchst and the chemicals industry require ATEX-zoned containers for solvent handling. Explosion-protected electrics, EX fume cupboards, earthing and equipotential-bonding concept to TRBS 2153.

GDP logistics FRA

Cold-chain-capable sampling

Frankfurt Airport is Europe’s largest pharma cargo hub. GDP-compliant sampling analytics needs +2 °C to +8 °C cold rooms, validated data loggers and 24/7 operation — we supply the containers from the factory.

Three Frankfurt specifics

Three engineering requirements that national suppliers overlook — Planexus builds lab containers Frankfurt precisely for them

Generic landing pages for the whole of Germany do not address the three realities a lab container in Frankfurt actually has to withstand. We do — because we know the Rhine-Main pharma and research market in detail, and our works in Albstadt produces what arrives here.

Heat island: Germany’s driest major city + rising tropical days

Frankfurt records around 700 mm of annual precipitation — less than any other German major city. Heat-island load is rising continuously according to DWD data; tropical days above 30 °C are becoming more frequent. Standard HVAC for office containers cannot handle cleanroom loads — validations break, PCR diagnostics fail.

Planexus standard: HVAC with redundant cooling capacity n+1, solar-control glazing, external shading from the factory.

Industriepark Höchst: HBO + dual site permit

Siting in Industriepark Höchst (460 ha, 22,000 employees) needs two permits in parallel: HBO building notification to Frankfurt building control AND internal release by the site operator for works railway, services connection and works fire protection. Generic suppliers serve only one path.

Planexus standard: Dual application track in parallel, site-operator interface from day 1, procedure-ready building notification.

Frankfurt-Osthafen gauge: flood structural design on the Main bank

Gauge zero Frankfurt-Osthafen sits at +88.757 m NN. HW2003 = 4.49 m was the high since 1990; historical HW1882 sat at about 7.80 m. Navigation on the Main is suspended from about 4.0 m. Siting at Osthafen, Westhafen and the Main banks of Niederrad/Sachsenhausen requires elevation above the local flood-protection line.

Planexus standard: Pile foundation or steel-frame elevation, structurally checked to EC 7.

Planexus for Frankfurt: EU Award 2026, HBO-compliant, Wesemann ecosystem

Four pillars that no competitor in the DACH region combines in this way.

Award 2026

EU Business News – German CEO Excellence Awards 2026: Planexus recognised as “Leading provider of innovative laboratory spaces”. Internationally awarded immediately after the LABtoGO world premiere at analytica.

Made in Albstadt

Final assembly, interior fit-out and quality control at our Albstadt works (Emil-Mayer-Straße 1). HVAC packages for the Frankfurt heat island and C3 standard pre-configured at the factory. A factory visit is possible at any time — from either side.

Wesemann ecosystem

Part of Wesemann Holding, with more than 60 years of experience in laboratory fit-out. Containers, furniture and cleanroom technology — from a single source. One contact. No interface risk.

Comparison for Frankfurt: LABtoGO, standard container and conventional construction

An honest comparison matrix — so you can take a well-founded decision before we talk.

Criterion	Conventional build Frankfurt	Standard container	LABtoGO
Lead time	18–30 months	16–20 weeks	8–14 weeks
Internal height	3.0 m+	2.4 m	2.75 m
Permit HBO Section 63	full procedure	building notification	Building notification + procedure-ready documents
Site-operator interface Höchst	bespoke	rarely	coordinated from day 1
Heat-island HVAC n+1	bespoke	rarely from the factory	standard from the Albstadt works
Mobility / relocatable	none	limited	fully mobile
Daylight share	high	low	fully glazed

Investment models

Hire, purchase or hire-purchase – we build the model around your Frankfurt project

Container specification, biosafety level, cleanroom class, ATEX zoning and duration determine the calculation. Instead of a pseudo-range you receive a project-specific written indication within 24 hours.

For the calculation we need: Frankfurt site (Höchst, Niederrad, Riedberg, City), biosafety level (S1/S2/S3, GMP, ATEX), desired duration and commissioning date.

Request an indication within 24 hours

Hire

Flexible, off-balance-sheet, project-tied

For interim laboratories during hospital refurbishments, time-limited university third-party-funded projects, short-term funded projects via LOEWE. Duration is project-specific.

Purchase

Asset, full control

For a permanent expansion at Industriepark Höchst, on the Riedberg campus or in Niederrad. The LABtoGO platform can be expanded modularly.

Hire-purchase

Transition from hire to ownership

If the interim project can become a permanent site — hire payments can later be credited towards purchase.

Logistics proof

Albstadt works → Frankfurt: 320 km via the A81 / A8 / A5

From the Albstadt works the heavy-goods route runs north on the A81 via Stuttgart, west on the A8 to Karlsruhe and north on the A5 into the Rhine-Main region. Pure driving time is about 3.5 hours; with permit requirements and escort vehicles it is typically one transport day.

Standard containers under 4 m width and 18 t do not require a heavy-transport permit — next-day installation is possible. Oversize units or Industriepark Höchst sitings are coordinated with a 60–200 t mobile crane and escort vehicles through Frankfurt building control and the industrial park’s works security.

From order to operational handover in Frankfurt takes 8 to 14 weeks.

320

km from works

~3.5 h

heavy goods

A81/A5

direct

Motorway junctions

Frankfurt-Süd (A5/A648) for Niederrad and Westend, Frankfurt interchange (A5/A3) for Industriepark Höchst, Frankfurt-Nordwestkreuz (A5/A66) for the Riedberg campus. Mobile-crane installation on the following day after site preparation.

Frankfurt permits

We prepare everything for building control, RP Darmstadt, the hospital building office and the site operator

Frankfurt has clear competences: City of Frankfurt building control for the HBO building notification, the Darmstadt Regional Council as state authority for GenTG notifications, the hospital building office for siting at the university hospital, the site operator in Industriepark Höchst. We communicate with all four — you do not.

HBO – Section 63 procedure-exempt or building notification

The Hessian Building Code (HBO 2018, last amended 2024) is decisive. Section 63 lists procedure-exempt works — we check the classification of your Frankfurt site in advance and submit review-ready building documents to City of Frankfurt am Main building control, Kurt-Schumacher-Straße 10, 60311 Frankfurt.

Site permit Industriepark Höchst

Siting in Industriepark Höchst (65926 Frankfurt am Main, 460 ha works site) requires internal release by the site operator for works-railway connection, services connection and works fire protection. We coordinate in parallel with the HBO building notification — we prepare the application documents in full.

RP Darmstadt – BSL-3 and GenTG

BSL-3 in Frankfurt requires a permit under BioStoffV (federal law) plus a notification to the Darmstadt Regional Council as the competent state authority. For genetic-engineering facilities S1/S2/S3 an additional notification under GenTG is required. We supply the risk assessment, safety concept and complete application documents.

KhBauVO Hessen fire protection for hospital siting

Siting at a university hospital in Niederrad requires fire-protection concepts under the Hessian Hospital Building Ordinance, sterile logistics and coordination with the hospital building office and the Frankfurt fire directorate (Branddirektion Frankfurt).

How Planexus builds your container laboratory in Frankfurt

Five steps, one contact — from the first sketch to handover.

We listen

Requirements workshop on site in Frankfurt or by video. Which biosafety level, which site (Höchst, Niederrad, Riedberg, City), which standard, which date.

We plan

CAD layout, building services (TGA), structural design, HVAC for the heat island. HBO-compliant building documents for Frankfurt building control — procedure-ready from day 1. Dual permit with the site operator for Höchst sites.

We build

Module prefabrication at the certified Polish partner; final assembly and interior fit-out at the Albstadt works with Wesemann furniture. C3 outer shell, HVAC n+1 and QC before dispatch. A factory visit is possible at any time.

We deliver

Heavy-goods transport A81/A8/A5 (320 km, 1 transport day). Installation by mobile crane, with works-railway connection in Industriepark Höchst where required. Connection of all services, functional and leak tests before handover.

We hand over

IQ/OQ/PQ documentation. Training for your operators. Maintenance options for up to 24 months — extendable on request.

FAQ — lab containers for Frankfurt

Seven questions, seven answers. Direct, and without marketing speak.

How long does delivery of a lab container to Frankfurt from the Albstadt works take?

The heavy-goods route Albstadt works → Frankfurt runs north on the A81 via Stuttgart, west on the A8 to Karlsruhe and north on the A5 into the Rhine-Main region. Pure driving time is around 3.5 hours over about 320 kilometres; with a permit-required heavy transport it is typically one transport day. Standard delivery points are the Frankfurt-Süd (A5/A648) junction for Niederrad and Westend, the Frankfurt interchange (A5/A3) for Industriepark Höchst and Frankfurt-Nordwestkreuz (A5/A66) for the Riedberg campus. From order to operational handover in Frankfurt takes 8 to 14 weeks.

What permits do I need for a lab container in Frankfurt am Main?

The Hessian Building Code (Hessische Bauordnung, HBO 2018, last amended 2024) is decisive. Section 63 HBO governs procedure-exempt works; exact classification depends on size, site and use. For GMP, BSL-3 and larger installations the building notification to Frankfurt am Main building control, Kurt-Schumacher-Straße 10, 60311 Frankfurt, applies. For genetic-engineering facilities S1/S2/S3 an additional notification under the Genetic Engineering Act to the Darmstadt Regional Council (Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt) as the competent state authority is required. BSL-3 requires a permit under BioStoffV. For siting in Industriepark Höchst the site operator’s internal permit paths apply in addition. We check the classification of your Frankfurt site in advance and submit procedure-ready building documents.

Which corrosivity category and climate apply to Frankfurt under DIN EN ISO 12944-2?

With around 700 mm annual precipitation, Frankfurt am Main is Germany’s driest major city. Mean annual temperature sits at about 11 °C and is rising. DIN EN ISO 12944-2 assigns Frankfurt city districts to corrosivity category C3 (urban atmosphere, moderate SO₂ load); near Industriepark Höchst and along harbour facilities C4 may apply locally. More important than corrosion in Frankfurt, however, is the summer urban heat island: the number of tropical days above 30 °C is rising continuously according to DWD evaluations. Planexus supplies HVAC packages with redundant cooling capacity and solar-control glazing for Frankfurt sites from the factory.

How high must a lab container stand against flooding on the Frankfurt Main?

The governing gauge is Frankfurt-Osthafen on the Main with gauge zero +88.757 m NN. The highest measured flood level since 1990 was January 2003 at 4.49 m. The historical mark from 1882 sits at about 7.80 m. Navigation on the Main is suspended from about 4.0 m on the Frankfurt-Osthafen gauge. For siting in the flood-risk area (Osthafen, Westhafen, Niederrad Main bank, Sachsenhausen bank) the City of Frankfurt requires elevation above the local flood-protection line and, where applicable, mobile flood-protection walls. We supply structurally checked pile foundations or steel-frame elevation with height adjustment.

Can you supply containers for Industriepark Höchst?

Yes. Industriepark Höchst (65926 Frankfurt am Main) is, at around 460 hectares and more than 22,000 employees, Europe’s largest integrated chemicals and pharmaceutical industrial park. Numerous pharma and chemicals companies with several thousand employees are based there. We supply GMP cleanrooms to EU Annex 1 with ISO 14644 class 5–7, ATEX-zoned solvent containers to Zone 1/21 and BSL-2 containers for pilot production. For siting in the industrial park, coordination with the site operator would be required — they are competent for on-site services, the works railway and permit paths.

Which container specification fits university medicine in Niederrad or university research on Riedberg?

The university hospital in Frankfurt-Niederrad operates numerous clinics and institutes with several thousand staff. Typical specifications here are BSL-2 study containers during hospital refurbishments, interim laboratories with fire protection compliant with the Hessian Hospital Building Ordinance (KhBauVO Hessen), and mobile diagnostic containers. Frankfurt University is distributed across the Westend, Riedberg (natural sciences, pharmacy, biochemistry) and Niederrad (hospital) campuses. On the Riedberg campus several basic-research institutes also work — here we supply BSL-2 third-party-funded containers and cleanroom modules to the conditions of research funding.

Which funding and which pharma corridor apply in the Rhine-Main region?

The Rhine-Main region is Germany’s strongest pharma cluster by value added. Within a 60 km radius, large pharma and chemicals sites concentrate at Industriepark Höchst, in Darmstadt, Mainz and Ingelheim, plus several pharmaceutical research institutions. Funding programmes run via LOEWE (Hesse’s state funding programme) and federal programmes such as ZIM and KMU-innovativ. Hire models run off-balance-sheet — we advise on the accounting classification.

Complimentary site audit

Send us your Frankfurt site and laboratory profile

Within 48 hours we deliver: a site assessment, a container configuration with dimensions and specifications, the permit path under HBO, a delivery and installation date, and an indicative investment bracket for hire and purchase.

Direct contact

Telephone

+49 7435 7519 700

info@planexus.de

Works & headquarters (320 km via the A81/A8/A5)

Emil-Mayer-Straße 1
72461 Albstadt

Factory visit

We show you your container during manufacture — including the HVAC package for the Frankfurt heat island before dispatch. Appointment by arrangement.

Write to us

Container laboratory Frankfurt

Lab containers Frankfurt — Albstadt factory visit and site audit

We manufacture LABtoGO to order at the Albstadt works — HVAC packages for the Frankfurt heat island and C3 standard pre-configured at the factory. A factory visit is possible at any time, complimentary site audit included.

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