Desay SV Europe lays foundation stone for top-class antenna measurement chamber

Desay SV Europe News

Together with more than 120 guests, Desay SV Europe today laid the foundation stone for a major new construction project in Weimar-Legefeld. Prominent guests at the ceremony included Thuringia's Minister President Bodo Ramelow, the Executive Vice President of the Desay SV Group Xu Jian and Weimar's Lord Mayor Peter Kleine. A 17-meter-high, state-of-the-art 3D antenna measurement chamber and a three-storey office building are being created on a site measuring almost 10,000 square meters in the immediate vicinity of the company's European headquarters. The first construction phase is scheduled for completion by August 2025. The new technology campus offers enough space for two further office complexes.

Investing in an important topic for the future

“The automotive future is being created here,” said Dr. Michael Weber, Managing Director of Desay SV Europe, in his opening speech. “We are investing over 25 million euros in the first construction phase at our European headquarters in Weimar-Legefeld, creating jobs for 110 employees. The energy concept combines photovoltaics with geothermal energy, enabling CO2-neutral operation of the buildings. In the final expansion stage, around 350 highly qualified employees will work at the new technology campus. This is our largest investment in Germany to date. With the 3D antenna measurement chamber, we are strengthening our project and technology expertise in complex vehicle networking and offering our European automotive customers first-class development and testing facilities for one of the most important mobility topics of the future.”

Performance measurement in the overall system

“The 3D antenna measurement chamber will enable electromagnetically shielded vehicle measurements - an important prerequisite for the development of highly connected, autonomous vehicles of the future,” said Marcus Och, Head of Development at Desay SV Europe. “Future vehicles with high antenna and electronics density must ensure secure, stable connections, high data transfer rates, low latency and maximum positioning accuracy. In such complex scenarios with potential interactions, measuring individual sub-functions is no longer sufficient. It is therefore crucial to measure the performance of the overall system in a shielded, reproducible and reflection-free environment.”

Top-class antenna measurement chamber

“The number and variety of different measurements that our new chamber will enable is absolutely top class in the automotive industry,” added Henning Knöß, Senior RF & Electronics Engineer at Desay SV Europe. “Three features of the measuring chamber are unique in the industry. Firstly, the fact that not only cars but also truck tractors and bodies up to 10 tons can be measured. Secondly, the vehicle can also be positioned off-center and up to a height of around four and a half meters, which enables faster and more precise measurements in high frequency ranges. And finally, that all antenna measurements can be carried out both in an anechoic chamber and on a metal floor.”

Growth and expansion in Europe

Over the past two years, Desay SV Europe has already strengthened its expertise and presence in Germany with a series of investments. For example, with the opening of a second production site for infotainment solutions in Weimar, the acquisition of Antenna Technology Center (Europe) ATC GmbH in Itzehoe, the opening of an office for development and project management in Hildesheim and the inauguration of an optical testing laboratory in Weimar-Legefeld. Another focus of the growth and expansion plans is the opening of offices in Europe in the immediate vicinity of automotive customers, for example in Paris, Mlada Boleslav in the Czech Republic, Gothenburg in Sweden and Wolfsburg. The company is also planning to expand production in Europe. Antenna and infotainment solutions are currently produced or final assembled at two locations in Weimar.