For more than 50 years, the team at Bel-Air Cases has been providing our clients with custom plastic case manufacturing. In fact, we were the first company in the United States to design, produce and sell vacuum-formed equipment cases.
Our cases are formed using high-molecular weight polyethylene plastic, and we use this specific type of plastic because it’s lightweight, yet durable and strong and able to withstand the punishment the transportation industry may inflict upon it. How do we transform a sheet of plastic into a custom carrying case? It all begins with a conversation.
When clients contact us, we spend some time discussing the type of cases they need. They might need a light-duty carrying case for toting a sales kit or delicate items that won’t be transported as freight or they might need heavy duty cases that can handle trips around the globe with ease. Our first step is to learn everything we can about the items going into the case and how the customer needs to transport it.
Understanding how a case will be transported can be the most important aspect of our plastic case manufacturing. All of our shipping and expo cases are built to handle frequent handling and shipping, as well as our heavy-duty carrying cases. These cases meet exacting ATA standards and many military specifications. Our light-duty cases, however, are not meant to be transported as luggage or shipped. Our medium-duty carrying cases can be used occasionally as airline luggage, but typically, these cases also are better for use as carry-on luggage or perhaps toting items in the trunk or backseat of a car.
Once we’ve determined the type of case you need, it’s time for the next step in our custom plastic case manufacturing process. This includes the selection of case options as well as talking about a custom foam interior. We can create any type of custom foam interior you might need with custom cavities for each component you need to transport, as well as creating panel mounts, shock mounts, interior doors and much more.
We also discuss other custom options, such as case color. Black and silver are the standard colors we use, but we also offer optional stock colors and, with a minimum purchase, we can provide color matching or custom colors. We also can add a molded-in logo to the design or add engraved plates or custom decals.
Once we have a design plan in place, the real fun of plastic case manufacturing begins. We use sheets of thick gauge polyethylene, which are heated to the point where they become malleable. At this point, they are vacuum-forced around a mold or cast, which sucks out all of the air and transforms the plastic into one half of your custom case. The plastic cools and any excess plastic is trimmed away. This whole process actually is known as thermoforming, and it can be used to create thousands of plastic products, from our custom plastic cases to car parts, plastic cups, toys and much more.
Once both halves of your case have been created, we use durable aluminum valances to connect the two halves. Then we add whatever handles, hinges, latches and wheels you may have selected. At the same time, our team of foam experts will be crafting your custom case interior.
No matter what type of custom plastic case manufacturing you might need, the team at Bel-Air Cases is ready to help. Take a look at our different types of cases and then give us a call or fill out our custom quote form which can be found on our homepage. Simply click on Request A Custom Quote, and our friendly customer service representative will be in touch shortly to discuss your custom case needs.