In the market for custom equipment cases? At Bel-Air Cases, we’ve been crafting high-quality carry cases, equipment cases, expo cases and shipping cases for more than 50 years. While we are confident about the quality of our cases, we know that not all equipment cases are built to our exacting standards, so before you order custom cases, be sure to find answers for these 12 essential questions.
1. Are Your Cases Truly “Made-To-Order?”
In some cases, your custom equipment cases might not truly be “custom.” A manufacturer might have a wide variety of stock cases and might offer to customize the interior, but this isn’t really a custom case. At Bel-Air Cases, each of our cases in made from scratch based upon your specifications. This allows the customer a far greater range of options, including the size of your cases, the color, the type of handles and hardware and more.
2. Can You Create A Custom Interior?
For custom equipment cases, it is essential that each case includes a fully custom interior. We can create made-to-order foam interiors with custom hand-cuts or die-cuts that surround and protect every inch of your fragile equipment. We never use pick-and-pluck foam, also known as “diced” foam. This is an inexpensive type of foam that a consumer can pick or tear away at in order to create cavities to hold equipment. It’s seems like an easy option, but this type of foam tends to break down very quickly, and the customer ends up paying for a bunch of foam they don’t need.
3. What Materials Are Used To Build A Case?
To build our custom equipment cases, we use high-density polyethylene, which is a durable type of thermoform plastic. Not only is high-density polyethylene durable, it is impact resistant and lightweight. It’s actually even a recyclable material, and while our cases are meant to last for decades, it’s always nice to know that the shell can be recycled and reused for something else.
4. What Materials Are Used For Case Valances?
When we design your custom equipment cases, we begin by creating the plastic lid and base shells and then hardware is added. This includes a sturdy aluminum valance. We use aluminum because of its durability and it’s lightweight. We pride ourselves on creating cases that are able to handle the rigors of transport yet still be as lightweight as possible.
5. What Type Of Case Should I Select?
When you browse through our website, you’ll see that we offer several different case types. This includes light-duty, medium-duty and heavy-duty carry cases, as well as shipping cases and expo cases. For custom equipment cases, we often recommend opting for heavy-duty cases, as these typically are the best option for fragile equipment.
However, if your equipment is small and will not be shipped or transported as luggage, a medium-duty or light-duty carrying case might be a good option. Before we construct a case, we talk with the customer about the type of equipment that will be placed in the case as well as the way the case will be transported in order to select the best options for your custom equipment cases.
6. Do Your Cases Meet ATA & MIL Specifications?
We have many cases that can withstand the rigors of transportation, so if you often ship your equipment, you can rest assured that your fragile items will be secure. As manufactured, our heavy-duty shipping cases do meet ATA guidelines as well as many MIL specifications. Of course, as our cases are made-to-order, we also can configure these heavy-duty shipping cases and other case styles to meet most airline, military, government and even aerospace specifications.
7. Can I Customize My Cases With Handles, Wheels & Locks?
We have a wide variety of hardware ware options, including wheels, handles, hinges, feet, latches and locks. If you want a case with wheels and a telescoping handle, it’s no problem. If you need a specific type of lock, we probably have that, as well. Moreover, if there is a case component that you need, and we don’t have it, we can probably get it for you.
8. What Case Colors Are Available?
Our standard colors are silver and black, but we also offer several stock colors, including white, yellow, orange, red, olive, green and blue. With a minimum purchase, we also may be able to provide you with custom colors and color matching. Additionally, we can design your case with a molded-in logo or add engraved plates or custom decals. Your Bel-Air Cases truly can be custom in every way.
9. Can I Order Just One Case? Is There A Minimum Order?
While some companies require a minimum purchase, we are happy to create just one case or 1,000 cases or anywhere in between. We put the same level of care and craftsmanship into every order, whether you order just one of our custom equipment cases or many.
10. How Much Do The Cases Cost?
While our custom equipment cases are made-to-order, the cost is surprisingly affordable. However, we don’t list prices on our website simply because it would be difficult to provide a narrow range of pricing for our cases given the wide variety of styles, sizes and configurations we offer. While we don’t sell any cheap $40 cases, we also aren’t selling many $900 cases either. Typically, an order of five large shipping cases might run about $400 per case, while an order of 100 lightweight sales kits with custom foam inserts might sell for around $120 each.
11. How Long Until I Receive My Custom Equipment Cases?
In general, new orders have a production lead-time of three to five weeks, depending on the order volume and the options you select for your custom equipment cases. If you select custom foam inserts, this could increase the lead-time. In some cases, if you are requesting a new size which requires a new tool, this might take up to eight weeks. Typically, though, you can estimate about a four-week lead-time.
12. What Type Of Warranty Is Provided?
We actually have no written case warranty, and we’ve never needed one. We stand by our cases throughout their lifetime. If a case component breaks, we’ll fix it. We know that the transportation industry is tough on packages and cases, so while we cannot guarantee that your case will never be damaged, we assure you that we will always repair the damages for as long as you own your custom equipment cases.
Ready to order? Have more questions? Get in touch with the team at Bel-Air Cases today. Whether you need custom equipment cases or something else entirely, we can provide you with any type of case you might need. To receive a free quote, you can give us a call or select the Request a Quote tab on our homepage.