Mattei climbs on board ecological buses by Rampini for environmentally sustainable public transport. Mattei compressors are the perfect solution for electric vehicle market demands.
Founded after World War II as a company providing maintenance services for fire-fighter vehicles, the Italian company Carlo Rampini SpA has successfully expanded its activities to embrace construction of high technological content vehicles for specific activities (mobile news vehicles, satellite transmission vehicles, special equipment for the armed forces, boarding steps for passengers, etc.). Today, with fifty years experience under its belt, Carlo Rampini SpA is a leader in the design and manufacturing of medium size ecological buses for urban transportation.
The renowned factory plant in Passignano sul Trasimeno, in the province of Perugia (Italy) extends over an area of 80,000 m2 (13,000 m2 of which roofed), and over the years has collaborated with countless enterprises that have boosted the production capacity of the Rampini Group.
The design and engineering of the products are developed in-house by a specialized team of technicians that guarantees top quality products, implementing a strict and accurate testing and inspection system, along with various after sales services.
Research and development for the production of green vehicles
The idea of expanding to the urban transportation sector is fairly recent: in 2005, Carlo Rampini SpA purchased the know-how for the construction of medium sized diesel buses from a company that had gone into receivership. This led to intense research on ecological solutions for public transport, paying particular attention to the electric and hydrogen sector.
The range of Rampini buses feature hi-tech innovation and respect for the environment; it consists of three different models (diesel, electric and hydrogen powered with electric drive), called Alè, which are all characterised by reduced harmful emissions, the compact dimensions (7.72 metres in length and width under 2.20 metres) and a 44 seat capacity.
Electric Alè, a flagship product
Electric Alè is the flagship product of Rampini SpA’s technology, a most interesting product in the sector given its transportation and autonomy capacity: its large capacity electric batteries allow it to travel 150 kilometres in city traffic and two-thirds load capacity, with just one recharge, covering one complete work shift of an urban bus.
Electric Alè was launched on the market at the end of 2009, after three years of experiments which can guarantee its exceptional reliability and high performance.
«We signed some important contracts in Europe – explains Giuseppe Lepore, Carlo Rampini SpA’s Marketing Director – We supplied both electric and diesel powered vehicles with identical characteristics to Nice. In comparison, Electric Alè has proved to be extremely high performing in terms of reduction in fuel consumption, silence levels and abatement of maintenance costs. The public transport authorities in Vienna purchased 12 vehicles».
Thanks to the collaboration with Siemens, the buses exported to Vienna were installed with a pantograph that rapidly draws power from the tram zone electric supply line, in just 10 minutes, to recharge the lithium-ion batteries installed on-board: «This solution is one of its kind, and means that it is possible to have a vehicle that runs exclusively on electric power, for drive, heating and air conditioning purposes, and guarantees prolonged uninterrupted service», explains Giuseppe Lepore.
A precious ally for ecological public transport
Mattei’s vane technology guarantees top quality compressed air supply and also a reduced noise level, due to the low rotation speed and the reduced number of moving parts.
«The silence of the vehicle when it is running is a top prerogative for hybrid and electric powered vehicles” explains Giuseppe Lepore “This feature was what convinced us to choose the Mattei compressors to deliver air to the pneumatic systems on our buses».
The RVM range is also characterised by the compact size and lightweight system which makes it easier to install.
«Over recent years we have supplied about 50 RVM15 compressors to Carlo Rampini SpA – explains Flavio Molinari, Ing. Enea Mattei SpA – Sales Director Italy -This model is able to deliver the quantities of air required (150 litres of air per minute) by the pneumatic supply system, including the brakes and suspensions and, at the same time, it adapts well to the compact size of the Rampini buses, contributing to the excellent level of performance».
Mattei compressors in vehicle applications
«The range of RVM compressors is dedicated specifically to vehicle applications. The highly articulated design, the high standard of the planning, engineering and assembly aspects, the quality of the components used and the high technology of the machining combine to put the Mattei compressors at the top of their sector league» adds Flavio Molinari.
«The partnership with Mattei was and continues to focus on the quality of its products which meet the manufacturing requirements of Carlo Rampini SpA – continues Giuseppe Lepore – We are experimenting some electric buses in the Czech Republic and Hungary and, over the last few years, we have also started operating on the domestic market, in Gorizia, Siena and Piacenza, supplying green buses equipped with Mattei compressors».
Mattei RVM: simply different
Mattei compressors are ideal for “Transit” applications, thanks to the rotary vane construction technology, Mattei’s flagship product. The vane technology guarantees delivery of high quality compressed air, extremely compact pump units and low noise level. 
All this is accompanied by undisputed product reliability, in all applicative circumstances. A variety of operation systems can be used with the integrated design of the RVM range: electric, oil-dynamic, endothermic motors or by power take-offs. Thanks to the construction layout, Mattei compressors allow direct coupling with various types of motors: AC electric motors, DC electric motors, hydraulic motors.
