From mechanical workshop to multi-service centre

For its new bodyshop department, workshop F.lli Ranghetti chose USI Italia as its technology partner for the main areas of the paint process.

The supply includes a full electric Ohmni spray booth, a multifunctional self-supporting preparation area with electric coil heating and a paint mixing room. The configuration was designed to organise the various work phases rationally: preparation, mixing, spraying and drying.

Both the Ohmni booth and the multifunctional self-supporting area have been configured with wide-visibility WOW doors. This choice combines functionality and aesthetics, making the department brighter, more open and more representative. The large glazed surfaces turn technical areas into a professional environment that communicates quality at first sight, almost like a showroom inside the bodyshop.

In addition, both the Ohmni booth and the multifunctional self-supporting area are equipped with heat recovery units. This solution makes the most of the energy flowing through the system circuit, reducing losses and improving the overall efficiency of the department.

Ohmni was created to respond to a new requirement in the sector: continuing to guarantee high paint quality, but with a more efficient, electric and sustainable approach.

During the spraying phase, Ohmni uses electrical resistances to heat the air. During the drying phase, it uses infrared emitters integrated into the booth panels.

This combination brings together the traditional logic of a spray booth with a more advanced drying technology.

Ohmni’s infrared technology combines the speed of short-wave infrared (SWIR) with the safety of medium-wave infrared, promoting fast, uniform and controlled drying even on complex surfaces.

Alongside the Ohmni booth, the Ranghetti project includes a double multifunctional self-supporting preparation area by USI Italia, with electric coil heating, heat recovery and a paint mixing room.

This choice maintains a consistent logic throughout the department: not only the main booth, but also the operational areas connected to the paint cycle are designed to work in an orderly, safe and efficient way.

The preparation areas support the bodyshop’s daily activities, improving work organisation and enabling the different stages of the process to be separated more rationally.

The paint mixing room completes the operational flow, creating a dedicated area for preparing paint products and helping to make the department more organised, professional and functional.

For a bodyshop created with the aim of being efficient and competitive, having dedicated spaces for preparation, mixing and spraying means reducing bottlenecks, improving the operational flow and increasing the overall productivity of the department.

In the Ranghetti project, functionality was not the only selection criterion. The aesthetics of the department also played an important role.

Both the full electric Ohmni booth and the double self-supporting preparation area have been configured with wide-visibility doors (WOW doors). This solution transforms the system into a more open, brighter and more eye-catching space, almost like a showcase inside the bodyshop.

This choice reinforces a central concept for USI Italia: quality must not only be technical, it must also be perceived. A modern paint department must work well, consume energy intelligently and guarantee efficiency and safety, but it must also communicate order, care and professionalism.

The large glazed surfaces of the WOW doors enhance the working environment, improve the department’s visual impact and make the quality of the process visible.

For a bodyshop that wants to stand out, even the image of the production spaces becomes part of the experience offered to the customer.

One of the most significant aspects of the Ranghetti project is the consistency between the installed technology, the energy strategy and access to incentives for efficiency improvement.

Thanks to the full electric Ohmni booth, the multifunctional self-supporting area with electric coil heating, the paint mixing room and integration with photovoltaic power, workshop F.lli Ranghetti has created a modern, orderly B&P department focused on operational sustainability.

The heat recovery units installed on both the Ohmni booth and the multifunctional self-supporting area further strengthen the efficiency of the project. This technology allows part of the thermal energy present in the system circuit to be recovered, making better use of energy that has already been used and reducing waste during day-to-day operation.

This approach enabled the company to qualify under the pathway established by the 5.0 Transition Plan, obtaining the related tax credit for investments in innovation and energy efficiency.

The benefit was not only fiscal. The choice of a full electric solution with heat recovery has made the new department more aligned with the future needs of the bodyshop: greater process control, reduced dependence on fossil fuels, integration with self-produced energy, reduced energy losses and a more modern vision of vehicle repair.

One of the most interesting aspects of the project is the consistency between the installed technology and the company’s energy strategy.

Workshop F.lli Ranghetti chose a fully electric paint system and installed photovoltaic panels on the roof of the building. As a result, the new bodyshop department was created from the outset with a vision focused on sustainability, reduced environmental impact and greater attention to operating costs.

The choice of a full electric Ohmni booth fits perfectly into this direction: eliminating the direct use of fossil fuels for booth heating and enhancing electricity as an energy vector for a more modern and more controllable process.

The installation of the Ohmni booth, the double self-supporting area and the USI Italia paint mixing room has enabled Workshop F.lli Ranghetti to build a bodyshop department in line with current market requirements.

The main benefits of the project are:

• greater internal control over bodywork operations;
• reduced dependence on external suppliers;
• better management of repair times;
• increased perceived quality for the end customer;
• a fully electric paint process;
• integration with the company photovoltaic system;
• access to the 5.0 Transition tax credit;
• heat recovery units on the Ohmni booth and multifunctional self-supporting area;
• better use of the energy flowing through the system circuit;
• fast, uniform and controlled infrared drying;
• a multifunctional preparation area to improve workflow;
• electric coil heating in the self-supporting area;
• a dedicated paint mixing room;
• wide-visibility WOW doors on both the Ohmni booth and the self-supporting area;
• a brighter, more orderly and more representative department, also from an aesthetic point of view;
• a more rational organisation of the whole department;
• USI Italia technical and commercial support throughout every stage of the project.

One of the aspects most appreciated by Workshop F.lli Ranghetti was the support received from USI Italia.

The company was supported through every phase: system selection, installation, assembly, commissioning and after-sales. This support was particularly important because the project marked the workshop’s entry into a new business area.

When a long-established business decides to bring bodywork in-house, technology is fundamental. Equally important, however, is the presence of a partner able to support the company throughout its transformation journey.

The Ranghetti project is already geared towards growth. In January 2025, the company purchased an additional 780-square-metre building, intended for a future expansion of the business. The next developments will include new areas dedicated to paintless repair and glass repair.

The direction is clear: to continue growing as a multi-service centre, focusing on quality, efficiency, sustainability and staff professionalism.

With Ohmni, the double self-supporting area and the USI Italia paint mixing room, Officina F.lli Ranghetti has built a modern, electric bodyshop department ready to support the company’s evolution in the coming years.

Workshop F.lli Ranghetti chose USI Italia to create an efficient, sustainable and technologically advanced bodyshop department.

The installed solution includes:

• full electric Ohmni spray booth;
• integrated infrared drying technology;
• double self-supporting preparation area;
• electric coil heating in the preparation areas;
• USI Italia paint mixing room;
• wide-visibility WOW doors on the booth and self-supporting area;
• technical support during installation and commissioning;
• commercial and after-sales support;
• consistency with the company’s decision to invest in photovoltaic power;
• a configuration aligned with the pathway for accessing the 5.0 Transition tax credit.

The result is a bodyshop designed not only to work better today, but also to support the company’s future growth.