Uthoff – New body and paint center
Uthoff opens new business in Steinheim
Uthoff Karosserie- und Lackierservice has been ensuring the mobility of its customers for 20 years.
The full-service automotive business offers the complete range of services for all makes of car, from regular vehicle servicing to complete accident repairs, and the Uthoff family has now opened its new, modern, future-oriented business and moved from its original location in Gerstetten to the neighboring town of Steinheim.
The family business, which is certified by all renowned partners, places particular emphasis on innovative solutions and sustainability.
– According to the two company owners, investing in particularly energy-efficient and sustainable SEHON painting systems at the new site was therefore a logical step.
Not only from an energy point of view, but of course also from an economic one.
For Tiemo Sehon, Uthoff is another example of an ultra-modern, sustainable and future-proof body and paint store from SEHON.
Tiemo Sehon: “For us, Uthoff is another milestone in the construction of new K&L operations. The symbiosis of top quality, green technology and cost-effectiveness has been perfectly implemented here.”
The spacious and fully equipped paint shop immediately shows that the goal of significantly increasing efficiency was already the focus during the planning phase together with SEHON.
The intelligent and spacious design achieves a higher throughput of vehicles and parts to be processed.
“Flexibility for all customer requirements is our top priority, which is why we opted for two high-end paint shops from SEHON, which, in addition to cars, also offer space for caravans and larger commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses up to 7.5 tons. This means we can meet all customer requirements, and given the dimensions of our large paint booth, this is to be taken literally,” explains Christian Uthoff.
Combination spray booth and dryer from Sehon.
Sustainable high-end spray booth from Sehon with cross slide.
The owner also emphasizes that today it is no longer just about servicing and perfectly maintaining customers’ vehicles.
Customer satisfaction and trust also depend on the company’s image, and aspects such as CO₂ neutrality play a decisive role here.
“The company in Steinheim is not only energy-optimized and certified to KfW Standard 55, but also has a combined heat and power plant, a photovoltaic system and a water treatment plant. But beyond that, it is important for us and our customers that we can meet all the challenges of the changing mobility landscape today and in the future with a comprehensive and optimized service and innovative solutions,” explains Christian Uthoff.
The importance of environmental awareness for the company is also reflected in the simple but organic design of the building.
From the extensive wood-clad façade to the clear and modern design of the offices and the light-flooded work areas, the company demonstrates how a modern automotive business can strike a balance between a contemporary look and maximum functionality.
Almost the entire SEHON performance spectrum of the German premium manufacturer is used in the new paint shop.
In addition to the two SE-Professional Futura combi painting systems with integrated drying function, the spacious paint shop has 3 universal preparation stations, 1 parts workstation, the masking area, an additional drying system and 1 finishing workstation.
An important part of the equipment is the special SEHON bodywork workstation to meet the strict legal requirements for the repair of electric vehicles and modern vehicle bodies made of steel, aluminum, carbon and mixed construction.
Risks such as possible explosions, toxic fumes, smoke and toxic compounds can be effectively eliminated, monitored and documented with SEHON’s CAMELEON system.
“The safety and health of our employees is always our top priority and, of course, we are also required by law to ensure that no harmful substances, vapors or explosive gases are released. What’s more, we can process body parts made of all materials at our new SEHON workstation,” explain the Uthoffs.
At the heart of the two SE-Professional Futura spray booths is the SE-ÖCOTOP, a highly efficient and energy-saving SEHON unit technology with integrated SE-NONSTOP-PLUS, a year-round heat recovery system.
In combination with other technical components, this technology ensures that SEHON painting systems consume up to 80 % less energy than comparable standard painting systems.
A major advantage of SEHON heat recovery is that it is a year-round system.
With conventional heat recovery systems with summer/winter operation, special cassettes have to be installed in the warm summer months and removed again in winter.
This time-consuming cassette change is not necessary with SEHON.
In addition, Steinheim uses particularly efficient rotor heat exchangers compared to the plate heat exchangers commonly used in the industry, which increase the heat recovery efficiency from 50 to 70 percent.
The intelligent SE-SUPRACLEAN filter system ensures virtually particle-free exhaust air, filtering out all particles from the exhaust air via several filter stages.
This not only directly benefits the health of the employees, but also the environment, as the paint particles and residues that are inevitably produced during the painting process are not released into the environment.
The SEHON combi spray booths are also equipped with the SE-AIRMASTER air volume control system.
The intuitive control of this technology ensures that the booth’s air output is automatically adjusted to the respective air requirement.
The system intelligently distinguishes whether the spray booth is being loaded, cleaned, in stand-by mode, painting under full load or in the drying phase.
Depending on the operating status, the SE-AIRMASTER ensures the optimum air output for the booth and thus saves additional energy.
Large-capacity XXL spray booth for commercial vehicles and caravans.
Energy center with CHP.
In addition, the unique SE-ÖCOPLUS energy-saving system ensures further energy savings.
During painting, the air output is automatically increased to the maximum and switched to pure fresh air operation.
During drying, 90 percent of the system is operated in recirculated air mode.
In stand-by mode, SE-ÖCOPLUS ensures that the system operates in a particularly energy-saving manner with a recirculated air proportion of approx. 80 % and a reduced air volume.
To this end, SE-ÖCOPLUS controls the recirculation of the already used and heated air, which would normally escape via the exhaust air chimney.
The permanent recirculation of the heated air in conjunction with heat recovery significantly reduces the energy requirement and enables pressure fluctuation-free switching within the spray booth.
Another spray booth feature is SE-CONTROL, which regulates the booth pressure fully automatically.
This is an important factor for painting quality, as the air pressure in the spray booth is kept constant at the correct value depending on the operating mode (painting, stand-by, drying).
It should be emphasized that the paint separation mats of the SEHON solution always ensure a constant air flow and the removal of overspray from the booth, regardless of whether they are new or at a stage where they need to be replaced.
To this end, the booth control system indicates when the paint separation mats are due to be replaced several days in advance.
This allows the replacement to be planned and carried out in good time.
This planning reliability saves time, especially during high capacity utilization, as sudden downtimes are avoided.
The tried-and-tested SEHON SE-AIRPLUS Comfort air extraction system is used to speed up the flash-off times of water-based paints in automotive painting.
The highly efficient system consists of 4 individually controllable and adjustable fans that are integrated into the filter ceiling of the booth.
Compared to other solutions, the controllable extraction rotors are therefore located in the cleanest zone of the spray booth.
If required, they are extended from the filter ceiling into the booth.
Even in this operating state, the air is guided into the exhaust rotors without particles, as their exhaust hood has the same filter performance as the filter ceiling.
This technology ensures that the applied water-based paint is completely evaporated in the shortest possible time.
An increased booth temperature in recirculation mode further accelerates this process.
This means that the next painting or drying process can begin more quickly, saving the company valuable time and, of course, money.
Up to two more passes per day are possible.
Even though the flash-off behavior of the first water-based paint generation has improved, SE-AIRPLUS Comfort acts as a booster for accelerated flash-off times.
– From masking to finishing, the vehicles are moved easily and emission-free by hand using a cross-pusher, with no effort required.
The paint shop is supplemented by paint supply and filler rooms.
Contact: sehon-lackieranlagen.de | info@sehon.de
