What POTTEAU Labo does

POTTEAU Labo NV is a Belgian family-owned company founded in 1890, headquartered in Heule-Kortrijk, that designs, manufactures, and installs custom interior fit-out, furniture, and technical doors. The company operates across six core verticals — laboratory furniture (its flagship market in Belgium), museum scenography, interior design for public and private spaces, healthcare interiors, luxury hotel fit-out, and technical/acoustic/fire-rated interior doors — serving hospitals, universities, government bodies, financial institutions, museums, and 4-5 star hotels. Operations are conducted in-house across dedicated wood-processing (automated), metal-processing (via wholly-owned subsidiary MECOP), and assembly/integration workshops, combining traditional craftsmanship with CNC-controlled manufacturing across materials including wood, metal, glass, composite, plastic, marble, and polymers.

The business model is project-based and bespoke: revenue is generated from one-off contracts covering design, fabrication, and installation, with public procurement eligibility enabled by Belgian construction agréation across Classes 1-8 (allowing bids above €5.33M). Distribution is direct enterprise sales with no channel intermediaries; marketing relies on a website project portfolio and trade-show presence (e.g., Laborama 2023). Notable customers include BNP Paribas Fortis, ING Belgium, VU Amsterdam, UGent, CHU Brugmann, Kempinski Palace Hotel, the European Parliament, and MAS Antwerp, with geographic reach spanning Western Europe, Central Europe, the Middle East, North America, and Africa. The company holds ISO 9001:2015 and VCA** 2008/5.1 certifications, employs approximately 180 people across five generations of family ownership, and operates acquired brands Decoene (technical doors) and Decowall (office furniture/lacquering).

Name

POTTEAU Labo

Legal name

Potteau labo NV

Website

https://potteau.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1890

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

POTTEAU Labo is a Belgian family-owned company founded in 1890 that designs, manufactures, and installs custom laboratory furniture, interior fit-outs, museum scenography, healthcare and luxury hotel interiors, and technical doors for institutional and enterprise clients across Western Europe and beyond.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Joinery & Laboratory Furniture Manufacturing

NAICS

Household and Institutional Furniture Manufacturing (33712)

SIC

Laboratory Apparatus & Furniture (3821), Special Industry Machinery, Nec (3559)

akta.pro primary industry

Lab Furniture, Facilities & Utilities (Benches, Casework, Gas/Water Systems) (HLAGAIAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Healthcare & Laboratory Interior Fit-Out (IMAFANAC), Joinery, Millwork & Casework Installation (Cabinetry, Built-Ins) (IMAFANAJ)

Keywords

• Laboratory furniture
• Custom joinery
• Interior fit-out
• Museum scenography
• Technical interior doors

Headquarters

HQ city

Kortrijk

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Project Revenue: Bespoke joinery and interior fit-out projects for laboratories, museums, hotels, healthcare facilities, and public institutions. Revenue generated from design, fabrication, and installation of custom furniture and interior elements. Projects range from small installations to large-scale public building fit-outs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

POTTEAU Labo designs, manufactures, and installs custom joinery and interior fit-out projects for laboratories, museums, healthcare facilities, luxury hotels, and public/private institutions. Core production is handled through in-house wood-processing and metal-processing (MECOP) workshops, complemented by assembly and integration services covering doors, furniture, scenography, and total building finishing. The company is the stated market leader in Belgium for laboratory furniture and operates as a direct project contractor from concept design through installation.

Product overview

POTTEAU Labo is a Belgian family-owned company founded in 1890, now employing 180 people and operating as a multidisciplinary firm specializing in high-quality building finishing and interior fitting. The company offers a portfolio of products and services across six core areas: laboratory furniture, museum scenography, interior design, healthcare facilities, hotel interiors, and technical doors. The core offering combines traditional craftsmanship with innovative machining capabilities, working materials including wood, metal, composite, plastic, glass, and fabric. The company operates through specialized divisions including wood-processing, metal-processing (via MECOP), and assembly/integration workshops. Acquired brands Decoene (technical doors) and Decowall (office furniture/varnishing) expand the product portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Laboratory Furniture (Laboratoriummeubilair) Specialized furniture for laboratories in hospitals, educational institutions, and the chemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Includes the award-winning Chromosome laboratory furniture line designed for demanding lab environments requiring durability, chemical resistance, and functionality.
• Museum Scenography and Exhibition Interiors Custom museum furniture, display cases, vitrines, scenic design, and complete interior fitting for museums and exhibition spaces, including interactive displays and multimedia integration. Examples include MAS Antwerp and In Flanders Fields Museum.
• Interior Design and Fit-out (Interieurinrichtingen)

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,000+ completed projects across Belgium and internationally
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MECOP (MEtaalCOnstructie Potteau)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWholly-owned subsidiary established in 1975, specializing in the manufacture of metal door frames and anti-burglar-proof door units. Core operational division for security-focused door products.
• DecoeneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcquired in 1977 along with Kortrijksche Kunstwerkstede Gebrs. De Coene. Split into Decoene (technical interior doors manufacturer) and Decowall (office furniture/varnishing and lacquering specialist).

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Steelcase: Global office and workplace furniture manufacturer with institutional customer overlap; broadly competes in interior fit-out and bespoke architectural interiors though not specialized in laboratory furniture.
• Maars Partition Solutions: Dutch manufacturer of architectural partition walls and interior systems for offices, healthcare, and public buildings — broad incumbent competitor in institutional interior fit-out where POTTEAU Labo also competes.

Direct peers

• Wesemann: Dutch laboratory and workplace furniture manufacturer with strong Benelux presence, covering lab casework, fume hoods, and flexible lab interiors — direct geographic and product peer to POTTEAU Labo.
• Kewaunee Scientific: US-based designer and manufacturer of laboratory furniture, fume hoods, and scientific products serving research, healthcare, and education — directly comparable lab-furniture competitor with international scope.
• Köttermann: German laboratory furniture and fume hood manufacturer serving pharma, chemical, and research customers across Europe — directly comparable to POTTEAU Labo's laboratory furniture business and European footprint.
• Waldner Laboreinrichtungen: German specialist manufacturer of laboratory furniture and complete lab fit-out solutions for research, education, pharma, and healthcare — a direct competitor in the same lab-furniture category POTTEAU Labo leads in Belgium.
• Mott Manufacturing: North American manufacturer of steel laboratory furniture, casework, and architectural interiors for healthcare, education, and research — a direct lab-furniture peer with comparable institutional customer base.

Regional players

• Reynaers Aluminium: Belgian manufacturer of aluminium solutions for windows, doors, facades, and interior systems — a Benelux regional peer in the high-end architectural joinery and door systems space where POTTEAU's MECOP and Decoene divisions also operate.
• Bulo: Belgian designer and manufacturer of high-quality office furniture and bespoke interior solutions — a Benelux-based peer in custom institutional and corporate interior fit-out with comparable craftsmanship-led positioning.

Emerging players

• Asecos: German specialist in safety storage cabinets and technical room equipment for laboratories; a partial-overlap peer as a complementary supplier into the same lab-furniture and lab-fit-out value chain POTTEAU serves.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about POTTEAU Labo