Dubai, UAE: The finest in automotive repair and maintenance solutions will be under the spotlight at the Middle East’s largest auto aftermarket trade fair next month in Dubai, from non-wax based vehicle detailing services to automated body shop systems that save time and money.

Auto professionals searching for the latest innovations in workshop repairs and equipment will be in for a treat at Automechanika Dubai 2017, with leading global suppliers set to descend upon the annual showcase from 7-9 May at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Italian company Symach will launch Fixline – an automated body shop repair process that utilises robotics, reducing vehicle repair costs by 25-30 per cent and yielding a ‘key to key’ time of two days on average.

Osvaldo Bergaglio, CEO of Symach, said the key to Fixline’s performance is that all phases of repair is customised for every shop, ensuring a more organised workflow, while its patented paint drying technology and specialised drying robots ensures optimal repair times.

“Fixline has three different layouts and repair processes, which are segmented based on the amount of damage and the number of panels involved in an accident,” said Bergaglio. “This makes it possible to optimise each phase of the repair, the skills of the technicians and the equipment. It also maximises quality, efficiency and production.

“The FixLine conveyor allows a continuous workflow throughout the day, allowing a shop to use approximately 30 percent fewer technicians than a conventional shop to repair the same number of cars per day.”
Bergaglio said Symach’s Drytronic paint drying technology dries body filler, primer, waterborne and clear in one minute and 30 seconds per panel, which allows a continuous workflow during each phase of the repair. He added: “This means that damaged cars can be repaired without interruption and technicians don’t have to handle three or more different cars at a time during the working process like they do today.

“Automation and robotics is the future of body shops and the FixLine process goes exactly in this direction, giving technicians all the freedom to perform at their best thanks to automated processes and the advanced technologies offered by robotics.”

Elsewhere in Automechanika Dubai’s Repair & Maintenance section, French company Saint-Gobain Abrasives will deliver live demonstrations of its Norton Car Spa system, a vehicle detailing service that stands out like a shining beacon.

Marc Borlinghaus, Regional Sales Manager at AAM Saint-Gobain Abrasives, said its unique car spa concept is carried out only by highly qualified, trained technicians, while no wax products are used to bring about a car’s showroom glow.

“Norton Car Spa technicians will achieve the same level of gloss as a wax would achieve, but without the drawbacks of wax,” said Borlinghaus. “In the end, the typical wax is like a makeup – it’s designed to hide small flaws and create a perfect looking result.

“But like makeup, it’s a short-term solution and will easily be removed by a few rainfalls or visits to the car wash station, which then returns a car back into the old and scratched optical appearance situation it had been prior to having given it to a detailing centre for polishing and waxing.