Vari-Form Launches New Interactive Web Site Focused on Vehicle Lightweighting

TROY, Mich., Oct. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Vari-Form, the industry leader in Pressure-Sequence Hydroforming, has launched a new web site that promises to be a valuable vehicle lightweighting tool for passenger car and truck engineers.

The new site, at www.vari-form.com, offers quick and easy access to essential information on Vari-Form's advanced hydroforming technologies and applications, in a user-friendly interface. The new Vari-Form site offers an enhanced user experience with improved navigation to the latest technical papers, technology developments and applications that can help reduce vehicle weight, improve fuel economy, and enhance structural integrity for driver and passenger safety.

Beyond faster access to information and resources, the challenge was to optimize the website architecture and design to present a large repository of Vari-Form technology in a smart and practical way. The new site creates a user experience that is intuitive and precise, making the presentation of information logical, interesting, and aesthetically pleasing to visitors.

"Our intent was to make our site a more robust engineering tool; to more efficiently deliver information and education on the body structure technologies we pioneered. We know our customers' time is valuable, so we kept them in mind as we worked on the site," said Terry Nardone, head of sales and business development. "The new site is designed to be a useful, easy-to-navigate resource of in-depth product information, customer support materials and the latest news from Vari-Form."

Guided by client feedback, Vari-Form created a rich digital experience for site visitors. The new site is more visual, offering tools like animations and videos to quickly and thoroughly present engineering information. It is also more intuitive, so industry professionals can navigate easily between departments of the site:

Milestones in structural automotive hydroforming explain how the technology evolved in the developing years between 1989 and today. The migration to producing rear rails, space frames, roof rails and front end structures by tubular hydroforming rather than earlier, less cost-effective, means, is described in detail.

The advent of Pressure Sequence Hydroforming (PSH), pioneered by Vari-Form, is presented in a Manufacturing department. Here, the visitor has the option to launch highly-detailed engineering animations for a comparison of PSH and high-pressure hydroforming.

An interactive department on Solutions/Products offers automotive professionals the opportunity to explore alternatives by clicking on bodies-in-white for passenger vehicles and trucks.

An enhanced department on HIBS showcases Hydroform-Intensive Body Structures, a recently completed in-depth engineering study that shows how hydroforming achieves 11 percent piece cost reduction, 14 percent tooling cost reduction and 7 percent weight reduction compared to stamping/welding processes. These cost and weight reductions are encouraging automakers from around the globe to adopt tubular hydroforming for a variety of structural applications.

An overview of Vari-Form's rapid globalization successes is presented in an interactive Global Locations department. At a glance, global industry professionals can see where manufacturing and engineering support are available in their region. In a little over two years, Vari-Form has grown from four locations in North America to eleven facilities around the world.

Vari-Form believes in industry continuing education, and has created two departments that help visitors stay abreast with daily improvements in PSH and HIBS. A Press Room offers news releases on applications and engineering developments, accessible by both journalists and industry professionals. An Events department lists industry conferences and exhibitions in North America, Europe and Asia where attendees can meet Vari-Form subject matter experts and see hydroforming applications face-to-face.

If a visitor wishes to take further action, the Contact department offers three alternatives. There is an interactive form for email communication, as well as an email address. The department also provides a direct phone line to the customer service team.

"We will continue to make improvements to our website into the future, to ensure quality communication with our customers," added Terry Nardone. "Our digital communication tools are key to making that happen."

For more information, visit the new web site at www.vari-form.com.

About Vari-Form
Vari-Form is headquartered in Troy, Michigan, and has production facilities in Canada, Mexico, Italy, China and the USA. Vari-Form originated the concept and application of tubular hydroforming to body, chassis and other automotive structural parts. Vari-Form is the industry leader in hydroforming, with more than 100 million parts produced to date. Looking forward, the Hydroform-Intensive Body Structures (HIBS) initiative from Vari-Form is redefining the way automotive manufacturers and tier suppliers view the vehicles of the future. HIBS is leading the way in demonstrating that critical components and systems can be hydroformed rather than assembled from stampings. The benefits are substantial, significantly increasing safety and structural integrity, while lowering tooling complexity, weight and cost. The company began volume production using its patented Pressure-Sequence Hydroforming (PSH) process in 1990. For more information, go to www.vari-form.com.

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SOURCE Vari-Form

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