David&Goliath

A David and a Goliath

Two projects that could not be more different

The production of the LTW components at our parent company Doppelmayr offers maximum flexibility when it comes to special customer requirements. In order to be able to demonstrate the breadth of our range of services, we are presenting two projects here that could not be more different. The heading "A David and a Goliath" already gives an idea of the opposites at play: a high-bay warehouse for the Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg versus a high-bay warehouse for goods 31 m in length and weighing 13.5 tons.

David – small but mighty

A great deal of commitment, also "on a small scale"

The Miniatur Wunderland (MiWuLa) in Hamburg planned to expand the world's largest model railway to include Italy. As we have successfully implemented several Italian high-bay warehouses in recent years, we quickly found points of contact for collaboration. And so the idea for the first high-bay warehouse in Miniatur Wunderland was born.

An LTW high-bay warehouse reconstructed true to scale

The MIVOR logistics site, where everything focuses on the storage and sale of apples from the Vinschgau region, was reconstructed in Miniatur Wunderland and integrated into the Italian model landscape with a great deal of commitment and attention to detail. Since 2016, visitors have been able to experience the high-bay warehouse in full operation on a scale of 1:87 – all miniature stacker cranes function fully automatically at the push of a button.

Facts and figures

The Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg was opened in 2001 with three worlds. Covering a total area of 7,000 m² and a model area of 1,499 m², the construction costs amounted to over 36 million euros. Today the company employs 300 staff, who have spent a total of almost one million construction hours on various projects.

„Little Italy“

On an area covering 190 m², "Little Italy", the miniature Italy, was created in over 180,000 working hours in 3 ½ years. The project cost over 4 million euros. The Miniatur Wunderland has roughly 400 cars, 4,510 houses, 10,000 trees, and 30,000 figures built in. The miniature country is illuminated by more than 50,000 LED lamps.

Uniquely special

For LTW it is an honor to be represented in the Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, as this is only possible for selected partners. In addition to the fascinating level of attention to detail in this work, the team is always hiding fun little features – creative minds are at work here.

Goliath – large and powerful

Individuality is standard for us

In search of a special solution, an Austrian material manufacturer approached LTW with a very special request: a high-bay warehouse was required in which goods with a length of no less than 31 meters and a weight of up to 13.5 tons were to be stored under controlled, climatic conditions. Since a customer request of this size had never been expressed before, LTW took on the challenge and developed a unique new plan.

Stacker crane for a payload of 13.5 tons

The planning

The most experienced LTW technicians sat down together and developed a solution. In order to test the idea in practice, LTW built an 80-m long and 5-m wide test structure together with the customer. The LTW team gathered and evaluated findings on an area covering 400 m².

The solution

LTW constructed the first stacker crane with pull-out device for this size of goods: it was assembled from two RBG frames and carries a three-part lifting carriage with a total width of around 31 meters. Including the payload of 13.5 tons, the total weight of the stacker crane is 80 tons.

The result

After intensive planning and construction work, the project was completed after a good 18 months. The high-bay warehouse began operation at the start of 2020. The 31-m long goods are stored lengthwise in single-deep storage in around 600 storage locations. The customer is delighted and has a great deal of praise for the execution of the work and the smooth running of the project.