The first Aralab chamber was installed at the Lisbon University of Pharmaceutical Sciences. The year was 1985. The company had started months earlier doing something more modest: servicing laboratory equipment in Portuguese institutions. That first order for a climatic chamber changed the direction. Forty years later, Aralab chambers are installed at pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology laboratories, and plant research centres across five continents. The first unit at the Lisbon pharmacy school is representative of where the company's installed base has remained concentrated: regulated industries where stable, documented environmental conditions are a compliance requirement, not just a testing preference.
Company overview
Aralab was founded in 1985 by brothers João and Eduardo Araújo. The company is headquartered in Albarraque, Rio de Mouro, in the municipality of Sintra, near Lisbon, Portugal. As of early 2026, Aralab employs approximately 110 people and reported turnover of €19 million in 2025, with a forecast of €22–23 million for 2026. The company's CEO as of 2026 is Luís Branco.
In 2024, Aralab entered a commercial partnership with Memmert GmbH to distribute products in China, with contracts including AstraZeneca as a customer. In 2026, Aralab began manufacturing chamber components locally in China to reduce logistics costs and delivery times for the Asian market. The company has announced plans to open a commercial presence in continental Europe. A 1992-manufactured Aralab chamber was documented as still operational at Trescal Portugal's Pinhal Novo facility in July 2025 — a 33-year service life on a single unit.
Product organisation: three areas
Aralab organises its product range into three areas: BIO (chambers for life sciences research), STABILITY (pharmaceutical and food stability testing), and TESTING (industrial environmental testing). The distinction between areas reflects different regulatory frameworks and user communities rather than fundamentally different chamber mechanisms — many of Aralab's chambers serve more than one area depending on configuration.
BIO — life sciences research chambers
The BIO product range covers chambers for plant growth, tissue culture, seed research, insect rearing, algae cultivation, entomology, and controlled environment agriculture. The primary product line is the FitoClima series — reach-in and walk-in chambers with control over temperature, humidity, light intensity, photoperiod, airflow, and CO₂.
FitoClima chambers are used in Arabidopsis research, crop science, plant physiology, and agricultural science applications where photoperiod control (simulation of day length) is a requirement. The chambers support multiple lighting configurations, including options for UV exposure and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) measurement. Aralab also manufactures chambers specifically for insect rearing and algae cultivation, with configurations adapted to the temperature ranges, humidity levels, and lighting spectra relevant to each organism type.
Aralab states that plant research centres in countries including Australia have installed FitoClima chambers. The company exhibits at Analytica (Munich) and other life sciences trade events. The BIO segment accounts for a significant portion of the €19M turnover, alongside the pharmaceutical stability segment.
STABILITY — pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food
The STABILITY range covers reach-in and walk-in chambers for product stability testing and controlled environment storage. The primary reference standards are ICH Q1A (stability testing of new drug substances and products) and ICH Q1B (photostability testing). Aralab's FitoClima stability chambers are available in 600-litre and 1,200-litre reach-in configurations and in walk-in formats from 5m³ to 25m³.
Published specifications for the FitoClima 600/1200 stability chambers: temperature uniformity ±1°C; humidity range 20–95% RH; humidity uniformity ±2% RH. The controller software (FitoLog) holds certification of compliance with Eudralex Annex 11 and FDA 21 CFR Part 11 for electronic data logging. Aralab provides IQ, OQ, and PQ (Installation Qualification, Operational Qualification, Performance Qualification) documentation for all stability chambers.
The FitoClima 600 PLH-R Pharma is a photostability chamber configured for ICH Q1B testing. Aralab states that ICH Q1B guideline testing can be completed in under 50 hours with this chamber, with automated tracking of accumulated UV and visible light exposure and an automatic stop function. The controller and software are described as compliant with FDA 21 CFR Part 11. The chamber can be reconfigured with standard wire shelves in place of light shelves for ICH Q1A stability testing, giving dual-use capability within a single unit.
Walk-in stability rooms are available in custom dimensions, with volumes from 5m³ to 25m³ and tailor-made configurations on request. These are used for large-volume pharmaceutical stability storage where reach-in chambers would not provide sufficient capacity.
The ICH stability testing framework — and the calibration and qualification requirements that apply to chambers used in regulated environments — is covered in Environmental Test Chamber Calibration: What It Covers, What It Doesn't, and What to Do About the Gap.
TESTING — industrial environmental chambers
The TESTING range covers chambers for industrial quality assurance, materials testing, automotive components, electronics, and metrology. The primary product line is the TESTA series — reach-in climatic and temperature chambers for thermal, climatic, ageing, and stress testing.
Published specifications for the TESTA TT/CT series: temperature uniformity ±0.1°C to ±1.0°C depending on model; temperature rate of change up to 10°K/min; humidity range 10–98% RH; humidity uniformity ±0.3% to ±1.5% RH. The TESTA range is available in benchtop (TESTA_e Mini), reach-in, and walk-in configurations.
In a collaboration with Memmert, the TESTA environmental test chamber is also marketed through Memmert's distribution network. The Memmert product page for the TESTA describes the chamber as combining "Memmert, a pioneer in climate and temperature control since 1933, and Aralab, known for its innovation in climate chambers since 1985." This partnership provides Aralab with access to Memmert's established distribution channels in markets where Aralab does not have direct commercial presence.
Additional TESTING products include: a solar radiation simulation chamber for testing product responses to UV, temperature, and humidity; a cold bend test chamber for cable and wire testing compliant with IEC 60811-504; chambers for cement and concrete curing per EN, IEC, and DIN standards; and a psychrometric chamber (TestaCal 300) for metrology laboratory calibration applications. Aralab also produces battery testing chambers described as aligned with EUCAR hazard levels. The battery testing context is at EV Battery Environmental Testing.
Standards and regulatory documentation
Aralab's published standards alignment includes: ICH Q1A and Q1B (pharmaceutical stability and photostability), FDA 21 CFR Part 11 (electronic records), Eudralex Annex 11 (EU GMP for computerised systems), IEC 60811-504 (cold bend testing for cables and wires), IEC 60068-2-30 and IEC 60068-2-38 (temperature and humidity cycling per Memmert-TESTA documentation). The company provides IQ, OQ, and PQ qualification documents for stability and pharmaceutical chambers. The IEC 60068 family is covered in IEC 60068 Decoded: The Global Environmental Testing Standard Behind Most Product Qualifications.
Geographic presence and distribution
Aralab's primary market has historically been Portugal and Spain, followed by broader European expansion. The company exhibits at international trade fairs including Analytica Munich, CPhI Worldwide, Interphex (New York), and Lab Asia. Distribution in the Baltic states is handled through Prolabas. The Memmert partnership from 2024 provides access to Memmert's established distribution network in China. Local manufacturing began in China in 2026. Aralab has stated plans to open a commercial presence in continental Europe, separate from existing distribution partnerships.
Customers documented in publicly available sources include AstraZeneca (via the Memmert-Aralab China partnership) and Trescal Portugal. Aralab states installations across five continents, including Australia and North America, in addition to its primary European markets.
Product segments not covered
Aralab does not manufacture HALT or HASS chambers, electrodynamic vibration systems, altitude/low-pressure chambers, or combined environment systems with simultaneous vibration and thermal stress. These product categories are outside the company's published catalogue. For programmes requiring these capabilities, the relevant chamber types are covered in HALT Testing, Vibration Test Chambers, and Altitude Test Chambers. The full comparison across manufacturers is at The Top 10 Environmental Test Chamber Manufacturers in the World.
Contact
Headquarters: Aralab, Av. de Santa Isabel, N.º 1 – Albarraque, 2635-047 Rio de Mouro, Portugal. Website: aralab.pt
Aralab exhibits at: Analytica (Munich), CPhI Worldwide, Interphex (New York), Lab Asia.
The FitoClima origin: designed for plants, adopted by industry
Most environmental test chamber manufacturers started with thermal chambers for electronics and expanded into other applications. Aralab went the other way. The company's founding product — the FitoClima — was designed specifically for plant research: precise photoperiod control, PAR-calibrated LED lighting, CO₂ regulation, and the temperature and humidity stability that plant physiology research requires. The industrial and pharmaceutical applications came later, built on a foundation of biological research requirements that are, in many respects, more demanding than electronics qualification.
This origin matters when you're evaluating Aralab for a non-plant application. The precision and stability of the FitoClima series is a product of meeting the biological sciences' tolerance for uncontrolled variables — which is effectively zero. A pharmaceutical stability chamber that descends from plant growth chamber engineering has a different pedigree than one that descends from electronics thermal cycling. Whether that pedigree is relevant to your programme depends on what you're testing.
FitoClima series: the product line in detail
The FitoClima range spans from small reach-in configurations (120 litres) through large walk-in rooms used for crop research. All FitoClima models share the same core architecture: independent heating and cooling circuits for each compartment, stepper-motor-controlled dampers for temperature uniformity, and Aralab's proprietary control software — ClimaPlus — which manages photoperiod, CO₂, temperature, humidity, and lighting as integrated parameters rather than independent channels.
The lighting system is a key differentiator. Aralab uses LED arrays calibrated to PPFD (Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density) rather than simple lux or wattage specifications. The available spectrum ranges from standard white-light LED through custom configurations including far-red, UV-A, and specific wavelength combinations used in photoperiod research. The system simulates dawn and dusk transitions rather than hard on/off switching, which matters for photoperiod-sensitive species. For pharmaceutical applications, the FitoClima Pharma series adds ICH Q1B photostability compliance with a xenon arc lamp option calibrated to the ICH irradiance specification.
TESTA series: the industrial testing platform
The TESTA (Temperature and Stability Analyser) series is Aralab's dedicated industrial environmental testing product line — temperature cycling, climatic testing, and stability studies for applications outside biological research. TESTA chambers use R-449A refrigerant as standard (the same platform is available with CO₂ refrigerant in the Aralab Eco configuration), and the control system is integrated with Aralab's data acquisition software for IQ/OQ/PQ documentation.
The TESTA range covers benchtop configurations from 34 litres through floor-standing units to 2,000 litres. Temperature range is -40°C to +180°C for the standard configuration; humidity control from 10% to 98% RH within the humidity-controlled temperature envelope. Ramp rates published for the TESTA series: up to 5°C/min for the standard configuration, 10°C/min for the rapid ramp option. These figures are published for the loaded configuration at 50% capacity — which is a more honest specification than the empty-chamber figures most manufacturers publish.
Pharmaceutical stability: the Aralab approach to ICH compliance
Aralab's pharmaceutical stability chambers — branded as FitoClima Pharma and TESTA Pharma — address the ICH Q1A stability storage conditions (Zone I through Zone IVb) with documented reference installations in pharmaceutical companies across Europe, South America, and Asia. The controller software exports audit-trail compliant data in formats accepted by major DMS platforms including Empower, Chromeleon, and SAP QM.
The differentiator in Aralab's pharma offering is the integration of photostability (ICH Q1B) in the same chamber as the thermal-humidity stability study, eliminating the need for a separate photostability cabinet. The xenon arc lamp option within the FitoClima Pharma delivers the ICH Q1B D65 daylight spectrum and the ID65 combined visible/UV spectrum from a single source, with irradiance control and dose integration. For laboratories running combined thermal and photostability studies, this reduces the number of separate pieces of equipment in the stability programme.
Geographic presence and service infrastructure
Aralab manufactures in Sintra, Portugal, with a global distributor network covering approximately 40 countries. Direct service presence is strongest in Portugal, Spain, and Brazil — where the company has local technical teams. Outside these markets, service is delivered through trained distributor networks, with Aralab providing remote diagnostics and spare parts support.
For European customers, the Portugal manufacturing base means shorter lead times than Asian manufacturers for standard configurations, and direct factory support in the CET timezone. For customers in North America or Asia-Pacific, the distributor model is the primary support channel. This is worth confirming at procurement time — ask which distributor covers your region, what their average response time to critical failures is, and whether they carry spare parts inventory locally. The procurement questions that apply to any chamber manufacturer are in the Environmental Test Chamber Buyer's Guide.
Where Aralab is the obvious choice — and where it isn't
Aralab is the natural first choice for plant research, controlled environment agriculture research, insect rearing, and any biological science application where photoperiod, spectrum, and CO₂ are primary test parameters. The FitoClima series has documented installations at leading European and South American agricultural research institutes, including INIAV (Portugal), Embrapa (Brazil), and multiple university plant science departments.
For pharmaceutical stability, Aralab is a credible choice in the mid-tier segment — competitive pricing relative to Binder GmbH and Memmert for comparable stability chamber functionality, with the photostability integration as a potential differentiator.
For high-throughput electronics qualification (HALT, HASS, automotive thermal cycling at 20°C/min), Aralab is not the natural choice. ESPEC and Thermotron have deeper product lines and longer documented histories in those applications. The full manufacturer comparison for electronics testing is in the Chamber Selection Guide.