“We were impressed with how it tracks repair orders, the efficiency and heat control,” Joe said. “We’re able to look at all that and fine tune it to what we need.”
Many of the cars that come to Edwards Collision Studios are exotic, made of different materials like carbon fiber, with an array of different composites requiring specific heat cycles.
“We are able to fine tune these heat cycles to the manufacturer recommendations,” Joe said. “For example, Ferrari wants its cars baked at 100 degrees, because it doesn’t want the resins to release on its parts.”
Joe said the booth also heats up quickly. “We’re also able to ramp it up to 202 degrees in three minutes, which has improved cycle time in the paint department tremendously, double to be exact,” he said. “That allows us to grow in other departments because we no longer have a bottleneck in the paint shop.”
The USI Italia booth allows the shop to duplicate factory texture, Joe said, which also helps cycle time because the painter doesn’t have to try to do so in the polishing stage.
In addition, the booth’s filtration system “is amazing,” Joe said. “It’s moving 20,500 CFM of filtered air and any dirt that does somehow get through is so microscopic, it takes little time or effort to sand it out.”
All of this adds up to returning pristine cars to customers faster than ever.
“Customers like having their vehicles back quicker,” Joe said. “What used to take three days, we’re doing in one day now.”
Joe praised his booth’s installer, CleanRoom Paint Shop. “They came out for the demo, training and tech support,” he said. “They were here once a week after the initial install helping us fine tune this thing, which is impressive service.”
Joe said over the years, he has learned no matter what goals a customer has for their car’s repair outcome, they all have one expectation in common---for the car to look like it was never repaired in the first place. The USI Italia booth absolutely helps Edwards Collision Studios achieve that every time.
“We focus on the quality of the repair over price, timelines or anything else,” he said.
USI of North America
201-405-7760
Company Contact: Stefano Moretto
s.moretto@usius.com
www.usius.com
Facebook: @USI-of-North-America
Instagram: @usiitalia
To read more auto body shop profiles in the October 2023 Shop and Product Showcase, click here.
Abby Andrews