Pioneering the future of laboratory automation

Members within the Laboratory Technology industry are innovating at a rapid pace. This also applies to automation within the lab. In this portrait series we highlight a number of FHI members who are not only working hard but also have ambitious plans for the future. This time we speak with Frank Hendriks, territory manager bee LabWare Benelux.

By: Dimitri Reijerman

LabWare develops a data processing system for the lab environment. The various software components have now become intertwined over time, says Hendriks: “LabWare supplies, among other things, the LabWare Enterprise Laboratory Platform. This is a system that combines a LIMS system (Laboratory Information Management System) with an ELN (Electronic Laboratory Notebook). This is a business-critical platform for many of our customers and is mainly applied within the quality domain and in R&D departments. A flexible system that can respond quickly and efficiently to changes in the organization. In this way, LabWare supports and accelerates testing for mobile laboratories in the fight against COVID-19 as we pioneer the future of laboratory automation.”

In this turbulent corona period, the LabWare software is being used extensively, according to Hendriks: “A good example of the current corona situation is the pharmaceutical companies that are supported with our LabWare products. It is mainly used to record the information flows in the development of the various vaccines.”

He continues: “We have never been so busy. We are in the corner where COVID-19 has not had a negative impact on our business. We are also strongly represented in the big pharma. Especially in these times, there is even more focus on research and production. Even during bad times, R&D continues as usual. Corona has of course had its influence, but with modern communication tools and flexible systems, this has been responded to very efficiently.”

A view on the future

Looking to the future, the LabWare manager sees a number of important developments: “The paperless lab remains interesting. ELN systems are increasingly involved in this, such as fully supporting the analytical process and research activities. Such a system must connect seamlessly with the work processes and supporting systems. Integration with other systems remains important, as does specific support on the work floor, instead of the still widely used Excel solutions.”

Around the COVID-19 crisis, LabWare has a portable disease surveillance laboratory developed, he says: “In fact, this portable lab consists of a suitcase with test equipment, scanner and device with LabWare Mobile for direct processing of test results and communication to government systems. The system is applied in the US and Europe. In addition, an industry template has been developed to support medical COVID tests and registration within the LabWare LIMS.”

Finally, Hendriks predicts that business-critical applications will integrate even further into the lab world: “We will offer more company-specific and industry-specific support, in combination with standardized SAAS solutions (Software-as-a-Service, ed.). In short, far-reaching and targeted digitalization and integration is taking place.”

Digitalization webinar, from trend to realization

During the online LabAutomation theme days, Michel Mees from LabWare gives a presentation about Digitalization, from trend to realization. This webinar is scheduled for Thursday, June 17 at 11:00 am. You can register for this webinar via the website.