Santa Bárbara, Madrid

Automatic parking before strolling around Madrid
First Klaus Multiparking automatic parking system for use by the public installed in the Spanish capital

Out of your car and right into the middle of the action: anyone wanting to shop or stroll around Madrid's most popular shopping district and trendy neighbourhood near Gran Vía can park really close to the Old Town. Just around the corner on Calle Santa Bárbara and the pedestrian street Calle Fuencarral, a new, fully automatic, MasterVario R3C parking system – made by the German quality manufacturer Klaus Multiparking GmbH, headquartered in Aitrach near Memmingen – has been installed under the Mercado de San Ildefonso. It has space for 85 vehicles and is a very special first for the manufacturer that is steeped in tradition: the parking system on Calle Santa Bárbara is Klaus Multiparking's largest ever system that is used as a public parking garage. It is used as frequently as you would expect, particularly at weekends…

From Thursday afternoon until Sunday morning, life at the heart of the Spanish capital is more vibrant than during the week, as people from the surrounding area are hustled into going out and shopping in the Old Town. As Madrid also has a shortage of parking space in the city centre, the spaces in Klaus Multiparking's MasterVario are in great demand: the fully automatic shelf system must cope with up to 100 parking procedures each day.

The requirements of the investor who wanted to have the innovative Klaus Multiparking solution integrated in the Mercado de San Ildefonso – which has a market hall, restaurants and tapas bars – were challenging: "Our client demanded the maximum possible number of parking spaces, minimal access times, maximum convenience for the users when driving in and driving out, as well as, of course, absolute safety and reliability in operating the system," explains Arno Hoyer, Manager of Klaus Multiparking Iberia in Spain.

During the implementation of the project, the Klaus Multiparking developers accomplished a real feat: although only one single transfer cabin is available, the specialists from Aitrach designed the shelf system with six parking levels and 85 parking spaces, meaning that the users only rarely have to wait for any period of time. In addition, with a maximum height of 1.90 metres and a length of up to 5.15 metres, the dimensions of the parking spaces are such that there is not only enough space for medium-sized cars, but SUVs and even luxury saloon cars as well.

It is not only extremely popular with the operator of the parking garage, but also with the rich and famous in and around Madrid. They prefer to conveniently and quickly park their luxury cars themselves in the new Klaus Multiparking system rather than anywhere else. "In Spain, until now, the common practice has been to allow a valet to park your car and to retrieve it later on. However, that takes time, of course, and always entails the risk of scratches and dents. And the more valuable and larger the cars, the less inclined the owners are to hand over the keys, since they naturally worry about any damage caused during parking. Compared to the usual procedure, our system offers a new dimension in parking in terms of safety and speed," explains Hoyer.

To ensure that the maximum access time of just three minutes per exit procedure can be observed, Klaus Multiparking uses a side pallet changer in the system in Madrid which speeds up the parking process. "When a vehicle on the pallet currently being used is transferred sideways to the storage and retrieval unit, a free pallet is moved into the lift so that the next user is able to get into a parking space as quickly as possible. In this way, the interval between two parking procedures can be significantly reduced," explains Michael Groneberg, Managing Director of Klaus Multiparking GmbH.

The system made by the premium manufacturer from Aitrach offers yet another convenience in Spain's capital: since Calle Sánta Barbara is a busy one-way street, Klaus Multiparking installed an automatic turntable in the transfer cabin, which allows the vehicle to drive in and out in line with the traffic situation. . This design enables users to drive forwards at an angle in line with the flow of traffic both when getting into a parking space and exiting.

About the location
The innovative parking system in Calle Fuencarral is located in one of Madrid's best-known, trendy neighbourhoods in a pedestrian zone which leads to Gran Vía. In Madrid, Calle Fuencarral is considered to be the top address for an unforgettable shopping experience. Aside from well-known brands, such as Adolfo Domínguez, Diesel, Mango or T-Shirt Star Custo from Barcelona, it is primarily unconventional and unusual boutiques, cafes, restaurants, trendy hair salons, art galleries, piercing studios and music shops that can be found here. Day or night, whether you're a tourist or a local, Calle Fuencarral is one of the Spanish capital's most popular streets and is always worth a visit. And thanks to the innovative parking system from Aitrach, it is now even easier to get to than ever before with a car.

Klaus Multiparking GmbH is globally renowned for its innovative, fully automatic parking systems, which are available as tower, shelf and layer systems. Among others, the medium-sized company equipped the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne and the famous project "The Shard – at London Bridge Tower" with an automatic parking system. In addition to Madrid, numerous fully automatic Klaus Multiparking solutions are also in use in Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Prague and Sydney.

About Klaus Multiparking GmbH:
With around 600,000 parking spaces installed and 65 sales partners on all continents, Klaus Multiparking, headquartered in Aitrach (Baden-Württemberg), ranks among the leading suppliers of vehicle parking systems. Klaus Multiparking provides innovative solutions for dependent or independent parking, such as for example double parkers, duplex parkers and stack parkers. The company is primarily known for its multiparking systems of the MultiVario and MultiBase type, the semi-automatic TrendVario parking systems and the various fully automatic MasterVario parking systems, enabling space-saving parking in the form of shelf, tower or layer systems as well as lift/shuttle systems. Single platforms such as SingleVario and SingleUp and various underfloor systems also form part of the product range. For the past 50 years, all Multiparking solutions have been produced exclusively in Germany, subject to the highest quality standards. Premium parking systems by Klaus Multiparking are tailored to individual requirements. They make efficient use of the space available and enable comfortable driving in and driving out.

The company employs a total of 150 staff in the Aitrach production works. It has already won awards for its innovative ideas such as the MultiVario parking system, including the Innovation Prize of the Federal German State of Baden-Württemberg. The history of Klaus Multiparking GmbH goes back to 1907, when Klaus was founded as a wheelwright’s shop in Bad Tölz (Bavaria). Klaus Multiparking has been making parking systems since 1964.