March 11

Validating the Web - A Success Story
Sun Review March 11, 2000

In a non-descript brown and yellow building hidden away in Salmon Arm's Industrial Park, Valid Manufacturing is taking luxury RV coaches to new heights.

After delivering custom metal work on a trailer that was built for the PGA tour by Bruce Coach Converters (www.brucecoachinc.com), a local converter of coaches for the RV industry, Valid was asked to provide slide outs for their unique coach designs.

Grant Hiebert, Valid's engineering manager explains: "After developing what we believed to be a very practical and functional slide out design, we took our show on the road to the heart of the RV coach industry, Tampa Florida". Interest in Valid's product evolved very rapidly and Hiebert knew that the majority of his customers would be located in the U.S. "This meant that we had to be able to make ourselves visible to all of them from right here in Salmon Arm" says Hiebert.

Since driving a coach around the country would simply not be financially viable and brochures, although useful, are limited to still images, Valid decided to use the Internet as an effective medium to advertise their product to a worldwide audience." A web site would allow us to ensure that customers had instant access to the information that they required" says Hiebert. "We would also be able to provide our customers with information in the form of written text, still images, animated video sequences and even audio."

Valid quickly developed a modest website (www.validmanufacturing.com), and within three weeks, Hiebert received a call from a coach manufacturer located in the U.S. After reading about Valid's slide outs and then downloading and viewing an animation of the system from the web site, the manufacturer determined that Valid's product was a perfect fit for their coach design. After a visit to their manufacturing plant, Hiebert and colleagues returned with a lucrative agreement to develop a prototype slide.

Since that time, the Internet has enabled Valid's staff to easily share ideas and drawings with their clients via e-mail, which has dramatically accelerated the design process. "With the prototype scheduled to deliver in mid March and production units scheduled to start shipping this summer, we feel that our Internet presence has already paid for itself a few times over" says Hiebert. "In short, the Internet has helped sling shot us into a strong position in a unique market but like any other business it will be good ol' hard work and commitment that will keep us there".

Do you have an Internet success story you want to share? E-mail inge@ingenius.bc.ca