Oatly’s Turnkey Laboratory Construction in Vlissingen

05 Dec 2025

In 2019, Oatly opened its first European production facility outside Sweden in the coastal city of Vlissingen in the Netherlands. As the site gradually scaled up, the need for stronger in-house analytical capabilities also grew. Once Quality Manager Handan Balioglu joined Oatly in 2022, she collaborated with the team to review the site’s analytical setup, and it became clear that a more advanced facility would better support future goals.

Building Know-How
“Microbiological monitoring is essential in the food industry,” Handan explains. Until then, Oatly collaborated with external laboratories, a setup that worked well for routine needs. As the site continued to grow, establishing in-house capability became a natural next step to further strengthen responsiveness and product understanding.

Developing such a facility required thoughtful alignment between global company standards, Dutch regulatory expectations, and the practical realities of the available production space. Rather than seeing these elements as conflicting, the project team approached them as complementary inputs shaping a robust, future-proof design.

Turnkey Design and Local Expertise
Oatly selected Medexs as their partner due to the company’s ability to manage the full turnkey process – from design to delivery. Recognising the importance of aligning international expectations with Dutch legislation, Medexs engaged independent consultant Frans Godthelp of Lab-Dsign to help define the Program of Requirements (PvE) and review design proposals. This collaborative setup ensured all stakeholders shared a common understanding of the laboratory’s functional, regulatory, and ergonomic needs.

The team refined the layout several times to make the best possible use of the available space while maintaining workflow logic and user comfort. Each iteration strengthened the final outcome and reinforced a sense of joint ownership between Oatly, Medexs, and the consulting partners.

Midway through the project, Handan took over the project leadership. Although new to managing an investment project of this scale, she embraced the challenge with support from the Medexs team. “We had weekly meetings to track progress and find solutions together,” she recalls. “It was always a constructive process.”

Turnkey Design and Local Expertise
The resulting laboratory – comprising a chemical analysis area, a controlled transition zone, and a dedicated microbiology space – meets Dutch legal requirements while staying fully aligned with Oatly’s global processes. The project was completed within budget and delivered a facility that strengthens the site’s capability and resilience.

For Handan, the experience was also personally rewarding: “I went out of my comfort zone, and I’ve learned a lot about project management.” The end users share her enthusiasm: “Yes, they are super happy,” she says with a smile.

Reflecting on the journey, she highlights a key lesson: “The design phase is extremely important. Bringing the right experts together early ensures that the final facility meets all requirements while staying practical for daily use.”

The Vlissingen laboratory stands as a strong example of how global standards, local regulations, and site-specific conditions can be harmonised through collaboration, resulting in a solution that benefits everyone involved.