Giménez Ganga expands its storage capacity by 48%

Giménez Ganga: aesthetic and functional designs

Giménez Ganga is a company that offers sun control solutions, ceiling coverings, and decorative blinds and curtains. Its facilities in Sax (south-east Spain) feature 22 production lines and a 90,000 m² logistics centre. With 21 international distributors, the business is present on five continents. In 2006, it launched Saxun, which began by marketing blinds, curtains and solar protection systems manufactured with innovative, high-quality materials to regulate the entry of light and protect homes and businesses from the sun and rain. Saxun has become the trademark for all Giménez Ganga products.

• Headquarters: Sax (Alicante, Spain)
• Founded in: 1959
• No. of employees: 771
• International presence: 70 countries

Giménez Ganga, the manufacturer of sun protection solutions, ceiling coverings, and decorative blinds and curtains of the Saxun brand, has seen steady growth for over 60 years. Even in 2020, the year the pandemic hit, its sales rose by 12%.

The city of Sax (south-east Spain) is home to the company’s main facilities, which include offices, a storage area and the production lines. The company manufactures and sells rolling shutters and doors, sectional doors, mosquito screens, louvre blinds, shutters, sun protection curtains, awnings, canvas pergolas and bioclimatic pergolas. In terms of logistics, these types of products cannot be stored on pallets due to their size. Therefore, they require a storage system adapted to their large dimensions.

“Before, we stored our aluminium profiles in bundles, which we stacked on top of each other, forming pyramids of goods. The bundles were placed in 3-metre-wide aisles so that we could handle them using side loader forklifts. To pick up the bundles, we needed two operators and a bridge crane. This storage method was really inefficient because, depending on the material we needed, we had to perform a number of movements before reaching the goods at the bottom. Additionally, due to occupational health and safety guidelines, the stacked goods couldn’t be more than 2.5 m tall,” says Ramón Encina, Manager of the Process Improvement Department at Giménez Ganga.

To modernise its logistics operations and support the growth of its business, the company decided to install mobile cantilever racking from Mecalux in its warehouse in Sax, where it manages 458 SKUs. This efficient high-density storage system houses extra-long merchandise while leveraging the storage space and maintaining direct access to the goods. The racks are installed on structures with wheels — activated by integrated motors — that move along rails.

To implement this project, Giménez Ganga created a team of managers from several departments: “The heads of the various company areas were analysing different racking and storage system options for our warehouse. We generated several layout options in the AutoCAD design software in order to check the locations we would have and the possible movements of goods. In the design, we had to assess the capacity and throughput we could obtain, taking into account the space and aisles to facilitate the movement of the forklifts, the type of forklifts we work with and the maximum height we could reach,” says Encina.

The company also studied the movements, handling times and turnover of the materials to calculate the storage cost of each bundle. “It was then that we chose the mobile cantilever racking. That was the system that offered us the highest storage capacity.”

Encina explains how the storage system was implemented: “Once the project analysis was completed, we visited Mecalux’s headquarters in Barcelona to meet with the managers and visit the showroom. Then, we distributed the tasks between each of the people involved. We also set dates and deadlines for completion. Working with a good team was the basis for the success of this project.”

Giménez Ganga is very pleased with the result. “The truth is that we were pleasantly surprised because the deadlines we’d set were met well ahead of time. We had to empty the warehouse and move the material to other buildings while the construction was being done. But the efficiency and effectiveness of the team meant that the assembly went off without a hitch.

The personalisation of the storage system was key for achieving maximum logistics efficiency and facilitating the subsequent delivery of the materials to production.

Encina highlights some of the advantages of cantilever racking on mobile bases: “It was customised to store the new unit load we’re using. The goods used to arrive in cardboard boxes. After consulting with our main supplier, we designed a standard container to eliminate cardboard. So we now receive the materials without cardboard, which helps us minimise waste and goods handling times. Plus, the supplier can also save on packaging costs. The products are stored on the cantilever racking and then sent to the coating plant just next to the warehouse.”

Giménez Ganga is strongly committed to green practices. It constantly invests in solutions that promote greater efficiency and minimise the impact of its activities on the environment. Cutting down on waste is essential for ensuring sustainability and promoting the circular economy. The company also invests in renewable energy, installing photovoltaic panels for the self-consumption of electricity. Furthermore, it has set up a green zone next to the production plant to create a buffer that will help reduce pollution.

Mobile cantilever racking for long and heavy loads

• Greater storage capacity: racking on mobile bases makes the most of the warehouse space to accommodate a larger number of products.
• Accessibility to goods: this is the only high-density storage system that offers direct access to products.
• Maximum safety and durability: the racking is equipped with safety devices that protect the operators and the goods.
• Extra-long products: cantilever racking can store very long and heavy products.
• Adaptability: the arms can be easily connected to several points on the upright, so the locations can be modified in line with the size of the items.

Increased capacity and agility

“With Mecalux’s mobile cantilever racking, we’ve gained 48% in capacity,” says Encina. The benefits of the storage system set up in the Giménez Ganga warehouse are tangible and immediate.

The solution consists of nine 7-metre-tall cantilever racking units on mobile bases that form a compact unit where the products are stored. To open a working aisle (47 m long) and store or remove goods from it, the operator merely uses a remote-control device to select the aisle. The racks, installed on mobile bases, then move sideways autonomously to open that aisle. “These racks house the aluminium profiles of various sizes — from 5 to 7 m long — that we use to manufacture our product range,” says Encina.

The racking is made up of columns and cantilevered arms on which the loads are deposited. The components are easily configurable: the arms of the racking can be attached to various positions, so these can be modified according to the dimensions of the items.

Optimised logistics operations for today and tomorrow

“The feedback of the warehouse manager and the operators working with the mobile cantilever racking has been positive in every sense. We’ve improved both our productivity and cleanliness in the facility. Our aim was to improve the storage capacity and the safety of our operators in addition to our warehouse management. Thanks to the entire team, this project has turned out to be a complete success,” says Encina.

Giménez Ganga’s logistics processes are faster, safer and more efficient. The mobile cantilever racking has leveraged the surface area, housing 48% more product. And, as opposed to other types of compact racking, this system maintains direct access to the goods via the mobile bases, streamlining storage, removal and picking operations.

This new solution has saved the company from having to expand its facility, which would carry a hefty economic cost. “We estimate that we’ll see a full return on our investment in very little time,” says Encina.

We’re thrilled with the mobile cantilever racking from Mecalux: it’s been adapted to the sizes of our aluminium profiles and has increased our capacity by 48%.