Vespa has given itself a wonderful present to celebrate 2016 and its first, magnificent seventy years: a completely new paint shop implementing latest-generation technologies, one of the most advanced centres in the world automotive industry. The paint shop guarantees Vespa primacy in quality, enhancing the premium value of the world’s most famous and popular two-wheeler brand.
The new paint shop is located in the Pontedera facility, where Vespa scooters have been produced without interruption since 1946, in an area adjoining the previous unit and the vehicle production factory. The facility is 96 metres long with a total area of almost 1,000 square metres. The 20 million euro investment is particularly significant, since it modernises and enhances the cutting-edge positioning of an iconic brand, in the year when it celebrates seven decades of a long and important history.
Consistently with the quality that has always been a distinguishing characteristic of all Piaggio Group production, the new paint line has been designed and installed using the most advanced technological solutions and implementing the latest innovations. To guarantee the outstanding quality of the end product, a new paint application method has been introduced: it is entirely automatic, using robots with high-efficiency electrostatic cups to reduce over-spray and paint consumption. The line is managed by sophisticated control systems, which monitor the entire painting process.
The benefits of the new plant, designed and installed by Geico (the world leader in vehicle painting), include a significant reduction in energy consumption (and therefore cost) and greater quality control on the end product.
Special attention has also been paid to sustainability, thanks to stringent emission controls and containment of energy consumption. In the new facility, the emissions from the painting rooms, solvent evaporation and the paint baking oven are sent to an efficient fume incineration system, which eliminates the solvents. The rooms, which use 90% recycled air, generate significant energy savings compared with traditional paint shops.
The Piaggio Group confirms its standing as a company committed to both product and process innovation. A company that achieves excellence by using top-level technology to guarantee the highest quality standards and finishes for its vehicles, and pays constant attention to caring for the environment.
