swiss label - Com Consulting SA

Dieselbox SA and Ing. Cortonesi & Ing. Prati
The silence professionals
Human activity generates noise: road and rail traffic, industry, discotheques, public places and activity in general, can
constitute, directly or indirectly, a source of disturbance with not insignificant consequences for people’s psychological
and physical health. It has however turned research into silence and tranquillity into a successful and innovative
business enterprise. An enterprise of Dieselbox SA and the engineering firm Ing. Cortonesi e Ing. Prati, both based in
Lugano.
W“
e operate in the area of acoustic pollution on two levels,” explains
engineer Rivo Cortonesei, “the first, which concerns sound
protection systems for roads and railways, is the responsibility
of Dieselbox, which operates mainly in Europe but increasingly also in
Eastern Europe; the second, which is the acoustic decontamination of
industrial and civil installations, comes under the responsibility of the
firm Cortonesi & Prati, which operates mainly in Switzerland.”
Let’s start with the name: why Dieselbox, which reminds us of the
famous Diesel engines? “For a very simple reason: during the 1990s, one
of our areas of activity was designing insulated components for coachwork,
cabs and containers for industrial machinery and generators that were
equipped with Diesel engines. Today this activity has been taken over by our
engineering firm. Dieselbox on the other hand now focuses on developing
panels for noise barriers and road joints, an area in which we began operating
with increasing success at the end of 1996; since then we have installed
sound-absorbent and soundproofing panels on various transit routes,
including those characterised by windy conditions which severely test the
resistance of the panels and related structures, such as the viaducts of the
Brennero motorway and the motorways of Croatia.”
All Dieselbox sound-protection panels, both transparent and opaque,
use the Helmholtz resonance principle to achieve high levels of soundabsorption
at low frequencies; this has made it possible to produce
transparent panels with two layers (one perforated and one solid),
endowed with sound-absorbent and soundproofing properties capable
of “reflecting” sound. But acoustic efficiency and structural resistance
are not the only elements to take into consideration. “Whether we like it
or not,” continues engineer Rivo Cortonesi, “sound protection always constitutes
an invasive architectural element with a not insignificant impact on the
environment. Our design philosophy is to use this as an opportunity for
enhancement, from the point of view of both the appearance and the
infrastructure of the surrounding area. It is a difficult challenge, but not
impossible. Our acoustic panels are designed to retain their functional and
aesthetic properties for a long time; because of the materials we use and the
quality of the finishings, they make a cutting-edge product which is much
appreciated by the operators of transit routes. Recently we expanded and
Dieselbox SA Via Vanoni 6 - CH-6900 Lugano
Tel.: +41 (0)91 922 93 01 - Fax: +41 (0)91 92 327 80
E-mail: info@dieselbox.com - Website: www.dieselbox.com
Swiss Label Ticino 2010
C O M PA N Y P RO F I L E
Dieselbox panels with Helmholtz resonator, opaque and transparent
Pannelli Dieselbox a risonatore di Helmholtz, di tipo opaco e trasparent
updated our range of panels for noise barriers with ‘new generation’ products,
to be used also on the railways, which are intended to perform the task not only
of protecting the public from noise, but also of improving the appearance
of the road and rail infrastructure”.
However, the battle against noise is not limited to motorway and
railway panels. “Of course not,” adds engineer Rivo Cortonesi, “every day
we are confronted with an infinite number of problems relating to ‘noise’; as
well as the usual assessments required by Switzerland’s anti-noise pollution
decree (OIF), our firm designs and produces ‘turnkey solutions’, i.e.
‘installation included’ for environmental acoustic decontamination in a
wide range of areas: from the heat pump that disturbs the neighbours, to
industrial and handicraft equipment, washing stations to discotheques,
pubs, systems for protecting private residences from ‘garden’ noise, and so
on. We also look after the health of employees in the workplace, both by
analysing the ‘quantity’ of noise to which they are being exposed and
through specific technical interventions aimed at minimising noise levels
at source.”
Ing. Cortonesi & Ing. Prati Via Vanoni 6 - CH-6900 Lugano
Tel.: +41 (0)91 922 61 59 - Fax: +41 (0)91 923 27 80
E-mail: info@cortonesiprati.ch - Website: www.cortonesiprati.ch
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