In order to be able to continue to offer great flexibility for special process requirements and customized solutions in the future, a 4,500m² extension with laboratories (chromatography, analytics and BSL-1) and the associated technical areas was realized. "Right from the start, intensive coordination with the laboratory user is required. The procedures have to be clarified", Christian Lorenz informs. Lorenz Consult has taken over the planning of the building services and the corresponding technical construction supervision for this project.

Fresenius Kabi produces sterile drugs in Graz, 80 percent of which are exported. The product portfolio includes intravenously administered drugs such as anaesthetics, analgesics, anti-infectives and antibiotics (not β-lactam). In addition, large-volume products for parenteral nutrition and diagnostic products such as X-ray contrast media are manufactured.

Laboratories place great demands on the building services: It is necessary to plan the equipment at an early stage in order to be able to plan building services lines and connections. "Experience shows, however, that this changes again and again in the course of the project. The building services have to be adapted accordingly", knows engineer Georg Dallasera, project manager at Lorenz Consult.

In the expansion of the Fresenius Kabi plant in Graz, even more attention will be paid to the building services, because one of the core elements is the heat extraction from the CIP waste water from production. "The heating registers of the ventilation systems and the building heating can be operated at low temperature from this energy. This results in energy savings of around 800 KW of heating power in the final stage of construction," reports Harald Leitgeb, Head of Technology at Fresenius Kabi Austria.

A particular challenge is that the million-dollar conversion will take place during ongoing operations. One advantage is the BIM planning from Lorenz Consult. "For laboratories, a flexible project organization with a focus on costs, deadlines and quality is required. It requires a clear demarcation of the construction site from ongoing operations," explains Christian Lorenz. Harald Leitgeb also agrees with this: "Construction work in areas where laboratories are in operation is carried out outside business hours or - if necessary - in a complete shutdown".