Shouldn't something along the following lines work?
[sql]
select t.*
from trans_table t join lookup_table l
on l.plant in ('*', t.plant)
and l.group in ('*', t.group)
and l.workcentre in ('*', t.workcentre)
and l.wagetype in ('*', t.wagetype)
where t.calctype = [SomeCalcType_Value][/sql]