Buying a new spray booth is something you do only a few times in the life cycle of a business. A spray booth is indeed a major investment, and the only concerns cannot be price, delivery time or compliance with local laws for this type of equipment.
Of course, these are also important aspects in the final evaluation of a new spray booth. But often, in their haste, entrepreneurs forget to ask themselves essential questions to maximise their investment.
The first aspect to consider when considering the purchase of a spray booth is the reliability of the manufacturer. Turning to leading companies such as USI Italia means finding yourself in front of specialised professionals able to foresee every aspect from now until the end of the system's life cycle, including the possibility of expanding or modifying the configuration of your bodywork over time.
In fact, not all booths are the same, and above all not all booths fit every workshop. That is why there are many aspects to take into account before placing the order.
Between a high-production workshop that works with more than four vehicles every day and one with a slower pace, requirements change significantly. For example, those on 'downtime' for drying or positioning vehicles.
A high-volume workshop might opt for a booth with an intelligent air heating system that speeds up the paint curing process.
The appropriate air filtration system with manufacturer-labelled and certified material can also affect air speed and quality and indirectly determine the smoothness or otherwise of the painting process. In addition, a booth with TOP-DOWN vertical air flow ensures a cleaner environment, less risk of paint defects, less downtime for cleaning the system and generally tighter work rhythms.
If the working space, or rather the bodyshop structure and staff organisation, allow it, the pull-logic solution can also be ideal for optimising processing times and maximising profits. In a spray booth with side drive-through design, in fact, the cars to be processed follow a continuous and smooth flow, without loss of time due to moving many vehicles in a confined space.
When thinking about the positioning of the spray booth within your bodyshop, you should not only consider the bare measurements. Those are only one part of the design process. Specialists such as the designers at USI Italia are able to consider every aspect relating to the positioning of a new spray booth: from the extraction system to the workflow, from additional components to other areas of work, from safety to environmental protection, from consumption to energy costs, there are many aspects to consider when imagining the positioning of a new spray booth.
A new spray booth could (conditional) also involve extra civil engineering work on the structure, electrical system, gas system and plumbing. Cutting concrete, for example, is a very costly activity, as is bringing an old electrical system up to standard or adapting it, or preparing the gas connection from scratch. These are all aspects that can weigh heavily on the economic investment and can often be minimised with intelligent planning.
When looking to purchase a new cabin for your finishing operation, in some cases the cabin can be the cheapest part of the project. There is never just the cost of purchasing the booth and installing it. And while the design and construction costs remain broadly similar even for spray booths with purchase prices far apart, the calculation to be made is how much the booth affects the total project, and how much it makes sense to save in percentages to a figure for a system that will work and last for at least a decade.
USI Italia is pleased to renew its partnership with one of the most successful Formula 1 racing teams. A collaboration that has allowed us to bring our experience in the paint sector to the highest levels of performance.
