Press
31/03/2009
From "Automobile Italiana" - Italy - November 2008
The Technology Cristall Ball
Italy's present offers clues into the future of vehicle technology.
Even Italy's independent aftermarket has some sort of stake in the OEM marketplace. This gives Italian companies a look ahead at what to expect with regard to manufacturing and vehicle technology.
At last year's Autopromotec show in Bologna, a number of paint and body repair equipment makers touted robotic painters, conveyors belts for the shop and improved paint-drying equipment.
And if Italy is any guide, automation will continue to be integral to the factory environment. Laser-guided technology cuts raw materials into shapes and forms too perfect for thode made by human hands.
At Polin, laser-precision machines are replacing the job once performed exclusively by humans, but the people still have a role - making sure the machines do their jobs.
More robotic hands than human hands are assembling products, and the computers communicate such details to the workers as how long it will take to finish a job; the machines even pick out their own pieces to cut.
Polin's factories make everything from food ovens to paint-drying booths, and although these items themselves aren't necessarily on the cutting edge, the business plan of crossing over into other industries represents an advanced mode of thinking that could be seen more with the footprint of manufacturers in the future. Some of PoIin’s ovens are so large they sell for $2 million.
"AIl these machines work by themseIves," says President Giorgio Cometti, during a recent visit to Maranello, Cometti also is president of the Italian Automotive Service Equipment Manufacturers Association (AICA), ItaIy’s prominent service and parts organization.
Other manufacturers nearby are fully immersed in automation. Garage equipment maker Ravaglioii also is investing a lot of money in automating processes in its factories.
"This allows our company to be a good partner in the long-term," says General Sales Director Ferdinando Moro. Ravaglioli makes entire vehicle lifts, aligners, tire changers and wheel balancers.
Ravaglioli's Ferdinando Moro points out one of the garage equipment maker's scissor lifts.
And to meet the ever-changing demands of OEMs, Ravaglioli is altering the way it makes vehicle lifts because of narrower underbodies and varying tolerances.
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The goal of Italian manufacturers and distributors is to keep unneeded costs as low as possible, while carrying forth the tradition of high quality.
