Case Studies

Car Sound Exhaust System Revs Up New Distribution Center with High Performance Wi-Fi Network

Car Sound Exhaust System, Inc. has become a worldwide leader in the manufacture of aftermarket catalytic converters and performance exhaust systems and has been servicing the professional exhaust installer since 1979. As an ISO 9001 approved company, Car Sound has made a commitment to exceeding the needs of its customers by providing the highest quality products possible. With a recently completed state of the art distribution facility in Oceanside, California, Car Sound needed a scalable, secure and highly resilient Wi-Fi network to support its growing operation – Xirrus was the solution.

Using state of the art manufacturing capabilities, Car Sound produces over 1,000 various products including a full range of catalytic converters from sub-assembly bullets, universals and direct-fit units. Car Sound runs a mission critical inventory and order processing application using Wi-Fi-enabled bar code scanners that manage the packing and shipping of orders; and to facilitate the queuing of manufacturing jobs through the facility.

Highly Resilient Wi-Fi – Using Fewer Access Points

Providing wireless connectivity for the bar code scanners used throughout the facility is critical to Car Sound Exhaust System’s business. The Wi-Fi network also needed to support an advanced, conveyer belt system to further automate the manufacturing and shipping processes. The resulting Xirrus Wi-Fi network provided ubiquitous coverage throughout the plant using only six Wi-Fi Arrays - yielding significant cost savings in both equipment costs and labor.

The Wi-Fi Array’s directional, sectored antenna system and its large number of integrated radios provided the needed coverage and bandwidth to meet the goals of the network. “We chose Xirrus Headquarters because of the Array’s increased coverage capabilities and Integrated Wi-Fi Threat Sensor which significantly reduced the number of access points needed throughout our facility resulting in significant cost savings,” said Marc Mendez, senior director of information technology at Car Sound Exhaust System.

The following diagram of the 250,000 square foot Oceanside location highlights the range advantages of the Xirrus Wi-Fi Array as only six were needed to blanket the facility.

Heatmap

Cost considerations including the number of access points, cabling, switch ports and labor were critical in choosing Xirrus as the Wi-Fi solution. The nearest competitive bid required 16 access points and didn’t include any dedicated Wi-Fi Threat Sensors for Intrusion Detection. Customer service also played a key role in Car Sound’s vendor selection process which included site survey support and access to Xirrus’ technical team.

The Xirrus Advantage

The current generation of Wi-Fi networks can’t keep pace with the trajectory of needed wireless capacity and coverage for today’s businesses. By combining up to 16 radios with an onboard Gigabit Switch, Wi-Fi Controller, Firewall, and dedicated Wi-Fi Threat Sensor into a single device, Xirrus delivers 2X the range, 4X the coverage, 14X the throughput, and requires 75% less devices and installation time compared to any competitive solution.

This deployment represents how a high performance Wi-Fi network and great customer service can support mission-critical business applications in a manufacturing and distribution facility.