Saxon hub for high-frequency technology: LOGSOL develops future-oriented logistics concept for SPINNER

Since 2019, the cross-border mining region of the Ore Mountains/Krušnohoří in Saxony and the Czech Republic has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Where mining produced inventions for centuries, the SPINNER Group from Munich is setting standards in high-frequency technology in the information age. The innovative, medium-sized family business produces in Lauenstein SpinnerFlex^® jumper cables for mobile communications, which are installed on transmission masts, for example. The Saxon site will be enhanced by a new, supra-regional distribution center – for locally produced, pre-assembled high-frequency cables as well as in-building systems and accessories that the SPINNER Group manufactures at its own sites or purchases for mobile communications coverage, for example in shopping centers or airports. “In future, SPINNER Lauenstein will position itself as a central hub for distributing high-quality products to Europe and worldwide,” says plant manager Jörg Eichler.

Good gut feeling with logistics planners from Saxony

Previously, customers received their goods for in-building systems from two different locations – cables from Lauenstein, antennas or distributors from Westerham. “The idea was to bundle the mobile communications portfolio in Saxony,” explains Eichler.
In future, the distribution center will also distribute items from SPINNER plants in Hungary and China, as well as purchased merchandise. A former production hall was the ideal building. “LOGSOL was asked to determine whether the existing property was suitable for the required storage capacity and to present various options for implementation,” says the plant manager, outlining the task.

He had a good gut feeling with the logistics planners from Saxony and found the presentation of the offer and the approach very conclusive.
After the kick-off meeting in spring 2023, two experienced LOGSOL specialists first documented all relevant logistics processes including material flow and warehouse structures at SPINNER Lauenstein. At the same time, they developed a logistics quantity structure with important key figures for planning.

Carsten Vötzsch, Senior Logistics and Factory Planner at LOGSOL in Chemnitz, explains the effort involved: “In order to incorporate future developments into the concepts, target figures must be derived. They form the basis for the dimensioning of warehouse technology and space.”
The experts then tried out various layout variants for small and large parts warehouses with different equipment options such as front-loading forklifts, reach trucks or high-lift trucks during the concept planning phase in order to derive a preferred variant.

Automation with mobile racking systems and lean lifts

As a result, LOGSOL was able to present the SPINNER site in Saxony the good news in July 2023. “With specific warehouse technology in the logistics hub, Lauenstein is equipped with sufficient storage capacity to accommodate future growth,” summarizes Eichler. It was particularly important to him that LOGSOL reviewed the use of modern options. “We came to the conclusion that purely conventional storage technology would not be capable of meeting the requirements,” says Vötzsch. LOGSOL recommended automation technologies such as mobile racking systems for large parts storage and lean lifts for small parts storage in order to make better use of space with a higher storage density.

Eichler considers it an added value to work with experts “who are up to date with the latest technology”. The plant manager is relieved that the “tight schedule” until the distribution center was put into operation could be met because LOGSOL delivered the concept on time with a preferred solution for the implementation steps: “By March 2024, the implementation had to be completely finished. It helped a lot that we had such a good basis.” Lauenstein not only stands out as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but also as a central distribution hub.