60 | AutoPartsAsia | NOVEMBER 2017GLEANINGS International
Cooper Standard Opens Global Tech Centre
Varroc Tech For Exterior Lighting Design
APA Bureau
C
ooper Standard, a leading
global supplier of systems
and components for the
automotive industry, has
opened a new Global Technology
Centre in Livonia, Mich. USA, to
offer capabilities in material science,
tooling, development, production and
validation to its global customers. It
will help them meet the demands of
the evolving auto industry and non-
automotive adjacent markets,
Greatly increasing the size and
capacity of its former technical centre
in Farmington Hills, Mich., the new
facility consolidates the company’s
innovation and development
teams under one roof with the
expertise to take products frommaterial development to production
reality.”Our new Global Technology
Centre is designed to enhance
collaboration and accelerate our
innovation process,” Jeffrey S.
Edwards, chairman and CEO Cooper
Standard, said. “This optimized
facility is dedicated to forward-looking
developments that are generated
from our successful i3Innovation
Process. With the facility’s new
capabilities, Cooper Standard is
innovating in areas of the vehicle
that haven’t been revolutionized
in decades and creating unique
expansion opportunities in adjacent
markets.”
Cooper Standard’s new Global
Technology Centre leads theCompany’s global material
research endeavours, from basic
chemistry through the end product;
supports all product lines with
sealing, fuel and brake delivery,
fluid transfer and anti-vibration
systems; offers a fully integrated
material development laboratory;
provides prototype production,
DV/PV testing lab, full-service
tool shop; offers production
equivalent lines for pilot activities
and advanced manufacturing
engineering; features innovation
showroom and vehicle display
area; and houses product strategy
teams to enable enhanced
collaboration and accelerate
product-focused innovations. It is
certified as per IATF 16949.APA Bureau
V
arroc Lighting Systems has
introduced Surface-LED, its
latest innovation in exterior
vehicle lighting systems,
which brings together the appearance
of OLEDs with the proven benefits of
LED light sources. This cost-effective
and reliable product will give OEMs
more freedom to innovate in the
design and functionality of exterior
lighting than ever before.Varroc Lighting Systems’ patented
Surface-LED technology uses thin
layers of micro-optic filters and
conventional LED light sources
to achieve the homogeneous
appearance generally associated
with OLEDs. Each homogenously litelement is only 3.5mm thick, with a
luminous intensity that can be scaled
from 2,000–13,000 cd/m2. Unlike
current automotive-qualified OLEDs
in the market, Surface-LED elements
can be designed and produced in
curved and 3-D shapes, as well as
with multiple colours that enable them
to achieve various functions.
With this new product, Varroc
Lighting Systems combines
the benefits of the still-
emerging OLED technology,
including its ultra-thin and
homogenous lighting profile,
with the proven reliability, low
cost and flexibility of LEDs.
With the ability to incorporate
3-D designs, curvature and
multiple colours, Surface-LED
presents OEM designers
with a new, cost-effective and
high-impact avenue to create
innovative lighting signatures
on vehicles.“There is a strong desire to
implement the appearance of OLED
into exterior vehicle lighting, but the
cost and technical complications
have thus far limited its application
to only a few premium vehicles,”
Todd Morgan, senior Vice-president
of Product Development at VarrocLighting Systems, said. “Surface-
LED eliminates these hurdles, and
even adds a few features that are not
yet possible with OLEDs. Customer
feedback on Surface-LED has been
extremely positive and we can see
many new applications already.”Stephane Vedie, CEO of Varroc
Lighting Systems, said: “Development
of new technologies is a key pillar in
our overall strategy at Varroc Lighting
Systems, and we take pride in our
ability to provide our customers
with leading-edge technology at a
competitive cost. We are celebrating
the fifth anniversary of joining the
Varroc Group, and Surface-LED is a
perfect example of how becoming
part of the Varroc family has enabled
us to become a more efficient and
forward-looking organization, while
continuing our traditions of innovation
and quality excellence, rooted in an
almost 140-year history.”Surface-LED was unveiled during
Varroc Lighting Systems’ participation
at the 2017 edition of the International
Symposium on Automotive Lighting
(ISAL) in Darmstadt, Germany, widely
considered to be the largest and
most prestigious event of its kind in
the world of automotive lighting.