History - Van der Heijden Labortechnik

Van der Heijden Labortechnik GmbH was founded in 1974 by Peter Van der Heijden as a specialised laboratory retailer in Dörentrup-Spork. Quite early on, he realised that there was also a need for cooling facilities in the laboratory and pharmaceutical industry and so he decided to manufacture application-specific cooling units for laboratories.

The first cooling units were configured very simply on a sheet of paper. Each of the units was different and there was no clear line in the configuration. The name of the cooling units designed by Van der Heijden was ‘KÜHLMOBIL’.

Christoph Plagens brought new ideas and innovations to the company in the 1990s. In addition to his training as a technician, he always worked in production and later in the office. In 2001, he finally became part of the management team and a good two years later became the sole owner.

Almost 10 years after Christoph Plagens took over the company, he decided to take a bold step due to its rapid growth: more orders require more employees, but above all more production space! So the company, which had been based in Dörentrup-Spork for over 30 years, relocated for the first time in 2012. However, it remained loyal to the tranquil village of Dörentrup and moved just a few kilometres further to the Dörentrup-Humfeld district. The new company building offered almost three times as much space and also met the latest energy standards with its modern design.

There were further changes in 2017: Christoph Plagens made the decision to sell his successful company. 

However, as the company and its employees were very close to his heart, he did not want to sell it to just any investor. It was also very important to him that the Dörentrup site be retained and that everything continue to run as usual. In the end, he found the right business partner in ‘Peter Huber Kältemaschinenbau SE’ from Offenburg. Since the sale in 2017, Van der Heijden Labortechnik GmbH has been operating as an independent subsidiary of Peter Huber Kältemaschinenbau SE. The sale to a globally active company opened up new sales channels for Van der Heijden Labortechnik GmbH. The long-standing employees Mirko Laskowski and Andrej Kepler took over the new management with the sale. Christoph Plagens acted as a mentor in sales for a few more years before retiring from the company completely.

In 2020, the production and storage area was expanded by a further 1000 m². The extension has a modern photovoltaic system for the sake of sustainability.

In 2024, Van der Heijden Labortechnik GmbH celebrated its 50th anniversary with more than 50 employees.

Today, the company is a globally sought-after manufacturer of cooling units and is also represented at worldwide trade fairs such as ACHEMA and Analytica.