Knowledge Base

While it might seem dramatic to assign heroic status to a flight case, Bel-Air Cases have provided an ultimate level of protection for our clients for more than 50 years, and this includes military and aerospace clients who truly have to put their cases into some highly rigorous environments.

Although your case might not be bouncing around inside an armored personnel carrier or taking a trip up to the International Space Station, we know that you need a flight case that can protect your equipment for hundreds of trips via land, sea or air and our cases are equal to the task. If you need an ATA case, our cases are built to ATA standards and can be built to meet most MIL specs, as well.

Custom Shipping Cases: Built Around Your Equipment

If you need to transport delicate and/or expensive equipment, a custom flight case is typically your best option.  Off-the-shelf cases simply cannot provide the level of protection that a custom Bel-Air flight case can provide.

Each of our cases is custom-built to your exact specifications ensuring that whatever you place inside is protected, no matter what happens during transport. We construct case shells out of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), one of the most durable types of plastic available.

HDPE also offers many other advantages. It’s lightweight, which makes it easier to maneuver, but also can reduce your shipping costs. Additionally, HDPE is highly chemical-resistant and water-resistant, and we can design cases that lock out moisture and humidity to further protect whatever is placed inside.

We offer both heavy-duty carrying cases and heavy-duty shipping cases. The carrying cases are ideal for diagnostic equipment, medical equipment, camera equipment and anything that you need to be able to carry about easily.

For larger or heavier items, our shipping cases are the perfect option. Whether you are looking for road cases for your music gear, lighting cases, audio/visual equipment cases, computer equipment cases or some other types of expensive gear, our shipping cases are a perfect option.

Custom Case Foam:

Do you need a hard plastic case with foam inside? Of course, you do! Custom case foam is a crucial part of the case equation, absorbing impacts and vibration and cushioning every piece of your equipment perfectly. At Bel-Air Cases, we never hand off a case to a customer without providing a custom foam insert.

Too often, equipment cases with foam include a cheap type of foam known and pick-and-pluck foam or diced foam. This is just a large chunk of foam without any custom-made cavities. Not only is the quality of the foam poor, but it also forces the customer to cut away the material to create cavities for their equipment and this isn’t nearly as protective as a custom foam insert.

At Bel-Air, we are experts at crafting foam interiors. We can provide you with anything from a simple foam liner up to a complicated interior with panel mounts, shock mounts, windows, plastic dividers, interior walls and, of course, custom die-cut cavities created to fit perfectly around each piece of equipment.

Typically, we can provide a custom interior for about the same price as you would expect to pay for a case with cheap diced foam and our foam acts as a second layer of protection for your equipment, providing even more insurance against damage during transport.

Bel-Air Cases: 55+ Years Of Experience

Back in the late 60s, when we were just getting our start, vacuum-formed plastic cases weren’t common. In fact, we are the original manufacturer of custom vacuum-formed carrying cases and shipping cases!

We got in early during the plastic revolution, and throughout the last 50-plus years, we’ve designed cases for just about any item imaginable.

While we are proud of our history of producing amazing cases, we do have one small regret. Back in the 60s, many companies highlighted their products with amazing industrial musicals. These musicals often were presented as a celebratory event during yearly sales meetings or conventions, and we do wish that we had hopped on the industrial music bandwagon. (To learn more about the wonder that was industrial musicals, check out the documentary “Bathtubs Over Broadway.”)

Given that Bel-Air was founded in 1967, right around the “summer of love,” with the hippie movement in full swing and the off-Broadway release of the musical “Hair,” we imagine that the highlight of our industrial musical (no doubt entitled “The Plastic Case Revolution.”) would feature our version of a classic “Hair” song.

The Age of the Bel-Air Case (using the tune from “Aquarius”)

When You Fly, and Need A Shipping Case

And Worry The Air Is Rough

Let Bel-Air Guide Your Travels

And Protect Your Precious Stuff

This Is the dawning of the age of the Bel-Air Case

Age of the Bel-Air Case

The Bel-Air Case

The Bel-Air Case

A Design Team So Understanding

Custom Features Are Abounding

Amazing Custom Plastic Extrusion

Quality Custom Foam Inclusion

Join The Case Design Evolution

It’s A Plastic Revolution

The Bel-Air Case

The Bel-Air Case

This Is the dawning of the age of the Bel-Air Case

Age of the Bel-Air Case

The Bel-Air Case

The Bel-Air Case

Our cases shine, our cases shine

The vacuum-formed cases – let them shine

Our cases shine, our cases shine

The vacuum-formed cases – let them shine

Doubtless, it would have brought our sales and production staff to tears, but, alas, it was not meant to be. What was meant to be, however, was years of providing clients with the finest quality custom transport cases and we are still proud to be a top producer of custom cases to this day.

If you need a custom flight case (or cases) that can truly handle the rigors of transport, the team at Bel-Air Cases is always here to help. To get started on a custom case order, simply click on the Contact Us tab on our homepage and fill out our quick contact form. A member of our team will contact you as quickly as possible to gather more details and set your case project in motion.

If you need to ship expensive equipment or gear, custom equipment cases with foam are usually the best option. Our custom cases provide you with peace of mind that your equipment will arrive safely at its destination whether it travels by plane, train, truck or ship.

At Bel-Air Cases, we’ve been designing heavy-duty equipment cases and carrying cases for more than 50 years and can create a case that meets all of your specifications. While a custom case can be more expensive than an off-the-shelf case, the extra cost can be well worth the price.

Custom Vs. Off-The-Shelf

For some items, a simple off-the-shelf case might be fine. If you need to ship or transport something relatively inexpensive, it might not make sense to spend extra money for a complete custom equipment case with a custom foam interior.

However, if you do often need to transport expensive and/or delicate gear, a custom shipping case with a custom foam interior ensures that your equipment is protected, even on the most harrowing of journeys. Our cases meet ATA specifications and can be built to meet MIL specs, as well. Whether you need ATA cases that can handle hundreds of flights, or you need a case that can handle military-level or aerospace-level extremes, we’ve got you covered.

Each of our shipping cases is made-to-order using high-density polyethylene (HDPE). This thermoform plastic material is one of the most durable case materials. Impact-resistant, moisture-resistant and resistant to many chemicals and solvents, our cases will protect your equipment from the rigors or transport as well as water damage or damage from humidity.

HDPE is highly protective, but it’s also lightweight, which makes it easier to move around a crowded airport and cheaper to ship than cases built from other materials. We also use lightweight, but highly durable aluminum for our valances. The result is a case that can handle hundreds of trips by plane, train, bus, ship, rocket or whatever mode of transport you need to use.

The Custom Foam Interior

The Bel-Air custom foam interior acts as an extra layer of protection for your equipment. Off-the-shelf cases and, sadly, cases from many custom manufacturers, place a chunk of diced foam (pick-and-pluck foam) in the case and hand it off to customers.

With diced foam, the customer must cut away and pluck away at the foam to create cavities for their equipment. The result is ill-fitting and not nearly as protective as a cavity built precisely around your equipment.

We believe that every custom equipment case deserves a quality foam interior, and we build the interiors to fit each piece of your equipment perfectly. We also use high-quality foam that cushions your equipment and protects it from jostling and vibrations. We also can design a completely custom case with custom foam for about the same price as you’d pay for a case with cheap diced foam.

Once Upon A Case: Fictional Characters & Their Equipment Cases

Throughout the last 50 years, we’ve designed and built carrying cases and shipping cases for just about every type of equipment. This includes designing cases for military applications and aerospace clients as well as cases to hold music equipment, camera equipment, lighting equipment, diagnostic equipment and much more.

While we are serious about cases and can design a case for anyone in the real world, sometimes we dream up the type of cases we’d create for some of our favorite fictional characters, including:

Mr. Spock’s Custom Phaser Case

There’s nothing illogical about Mr. Spock’s custom-designed carrying case. The simple black exterior boasts a molded-in Vulcan logo to make it easy for Spock to find his case among the cargo on Starship Enterprise. Inside, there are custom foam cavities to protect his phasers during journeys from one side of the universe to the other.

Harry Potter’s Custom Equipment Case

One doesn’t always want to carry one’s wand from place to place, and Harry’s custom cases can handle a ride in a flying car, a frenetic trip on the Knight Bus or in the cargo hold of the Hogwarts Express. We also created his equipment cases with wheels to make it easy to transport his gear throughout King’s Cross Station.

While he opted for some of our smaller shipping case sizes, the interiors magically fit Harry’s wand perfectly, with spots for his Marauder’s Map, his Nimbus 2000 as well as a complete Quidditch set, a set of scales, an invisibility cloak, a time-turner and a Remembrall.  Of course, we designed the cases with a molded-in Gryffindor Logo in Gryffindor red with stylish gold handles.

Mary Poppins’ Shipping Case

Sometimes a magical carpet bag is simply not enough, and you need a custom padded equipment case. For Ms. Poppins, we designed a simple black case (nothing showy, mind you) that cam hold a bottle of medicine, many spoonsful of sugar, a measuring tape, a large floor lamp, a hat stand, a potted plant, a looking glass and many other odds and ends. Mary’s case holds everything safely and securely and, just like Mary, it’s practically perfect in every way.

The Top-Secret Carrying Case

Of course, not all of these heavy-duty shipping cases and carrying cases need be magical, and an internationally known spy such as James Bond needs a case that can hold and protect an assortment of clever gadgets from Q’s top-secret workshop. Bond’s sleek silver case has 007 molded into the frame, to ensure that 006 and 008 don’t accidentally grab his case on their next mission.

Naturally, we’ve added an impenetrable locking system on the case, which can only be accessed with a fingerprint and corneal scan. Inside, you’ll find a special section for secret documents as well as custom foam cavities for a fountain pen that doubles as a pistol, a mini-rocket cigarette, a fingerprint scanner, a tiny spy camera, a watch that can deflect bullets and, naturally, a chilled cocktail glass and tiny bottles of Gordon’s gin, vodka, and a bit of lemon peel.

The Millennium Falcon Cases

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, our team of designers created specialty smugglers shipping cases for a certain rogue pilot and his furry co-pilot. These cases could be used to hold blasters, kegs of illegal spices, the technical plans for a certain Death Star, lightsabers or whatever else would be needed to save the Rebellion and make a quick extra buck or two along the way. Because each case is lightweight, it also makes it easier for the Falcon to make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.

Order Your Bel-Air Equipment Cases Now!

While your equipment cases with foam might not need to carry a broomstick or a lightsaber, we know that your equipment is important to you. At Bel-Air Cases we will create a custom case with a quality custom foam interior that meets your specifications, even if they are MIL specs or you need a case that can handle a trip to Mars. To get started, just click on the Request A Quote tab on our homepage and let our team know more about your case project.

If you’ve ever suffered the misfortune of opening luggage only to discover that your expensive equipment has been damaged during transport, you aren’t alone. The transportation industry can take its toll on cases and luggage, but our Bel-Air heavy duty cases are built to handle the rigors of transport and protect your delicate or expensive items.

What Makes Bel-Air Different?

We are the first company to design and create vacuum-formed cases, and over the course of the last 50+ years, our cases have stood the test of time. In fact, many of those original cases are still going strong today. There are many case manufacturers and types of cases on the market, but our heavy-duty cases are unique for several reasons, including:

Materials

Back in the late 1960s, plastic cases were considered a new type of material, and we chose a specific type of plastic for our cases – high-density polyethylene (HDPE). This material has several advantages over other types of case materials, including other types of plastic.

HDPE is highly impact-resistant, which is crucial if you want to build shipping cases that can actually handle being shipped again and again. HDPE is water-resistant and chemical-resistant and also is able to handle temperature extremes. Whether your equipment case has to sit on a rain-drenched tarmac, spend a few weeks on the tundra of Antarctica or scuttle through a hot, humid jungle, your Bel-Air case will protect whatever is placed inside it.

Additionally, we use durable aluminum valances to join the two halves of each case together. These also can handle temperature extremes, moisture and humidity. Both HDPE and aluminum are lightweight, which improves maneuverability and can reduce your overall shipping costs.

If you need ATA cases, our cases meet or exceed ATA standards, and we also can meet MIL specs, as well. Through the years, we’ve designed many cases for the military, and if you need MIL spec cases, we can design whatever you might need.

Our cases are suitable for storing and transporting a wide range of equipment, including:

• Lighting Equipment
• Aerospace & Military Equipment
• Medical Equipment
• Audio-Visual Equipment
• Diagnostic Equipment
• Computer Equipment & Much More

While our cases are suitable for just about any type of equipment, if our team believes that another type of case would be a better fit for your items, we will let you know. We believe that the customer always comes first and if we see a better option for your equipment, we will point you to a quality case manufacturer that meets all of your case needs.

Customization

With HDPE and the process of vacuum forming, we can create heavy duty cases in virtually any size you might need. For smaller items, our heavy-duty carrying cases might be a good option to consider. The heavy-duty carrying cases are built using the same materials as our shipping cases, but they are formed using our traditional carry case molds.

For larger and heavier items, our heavy-duty shipping cases are a perfect option, and these are available in a wide range of sizes. If we don’t have the exact size that you need, our team can create a new, custom shipping case size to fit your needs.

Quality Interior Foam

To further protect your equipment, our heavy-duty cases come with custom interior foam. Our high-quality foam absorbs impacts and prevents vibrations from damaging delicate equipment.

While many case manufacturers, either don’t provide custom foam interiors or simply hand off your case with cheap pick & pluck foam, we can usually construct custom foam sets for around the same price you’d pay for cases filled with cheap diced foam.

Our design team can fabricate interior walls, add plastic dividers and interior doors as well as die cuts, windows, panel mounts and shock mounts. With our design expertise, our foam interiors not only provide an ultimate level of protection, but also display your items to their best advantage. Our cases often are used for sales kits and as OEM cases, and our foam interiors can serve an impressive display for potential clients.

Additional Custom Features

While the main purpose of a heavy-duty transport case is to provide a high level of protection, at Bel-Air Cases, we also believe that heavy duty cases can be attractive. We can customize your cases with molded-in logos, engraved plates or custom decals.

We also can provide you with an assortment of color options. Black and silver are the standard colors we offer, but we have several additional stock colors, including blue, green, olive, red, orange, yellow and white. Color matching and custom colors also might be available with a specific minimum purchase.

Order Heavy-Duty Cases Today!

If you need custom heavy-duty cases, contact our team at any time. Whether you need just one custom shipping case or many, we can build cases that protect your equipment perfectly. You can request a quote by calling us at (866) 235-2472 or clicking on the Contact Us tab on our homepage and filling out our quick contact form. All of our cases are built-to-order and designed and made in the USA.

If you need to transport any type of delicate or expensive equipment, you need custom cases that can protect your items from the bustling and bumping the transportation industry inflicts on freight and luggage. At Bel-Air Cases, we design heavy-duty cases for equipment that can withstand hundreds of trips by air, land or sea (or spaceship).

How To Choose The Best Custom Case Option

There are many different kinds of cases for equipment, including vacuum-formed, roto-molded, injection molded, aluminum, laminated wood and blow-molded cases. At Bel-Air Cases, we focus on providing vacuum-formed hard plastic cases for our clients, and we believe these cases have some distinct advantages over other types of cases.

With vacuum forming, we can create nearly endless case sizes and can create special features such as molded-in bumpers and custom molded-in logos. We use high-density polyethylene (HDPE) for the case shells and this versatile, durable plastic not only can absorb impact but also is moisture-resistant and chemical-resistant and can withstand extreme temperatures.

Aside from versatility and strength, HDPE is extremely lightweight, which not only makes it easier to move a case through a crowded airport or train terminal but also reduces your overall shipping costs.

When choosing a custom case for equipment, there are several factors that we will discuss with you, including:

1. Size

We consider the size and dimensions of the equipment you need to protect, as this will help us select the best shipping case size for your needs. Keep in mind, with vacuum-forming, just about any size of custom case is possible.

2. Environments

We talk about the environments where the equipment will be used. Our cases can be used safely in conditions such as high-humidity or damp locations or in places where high or freezing temperatures are common. Dust resistance and pressure resistance also can be important factors when selecting a case.

3. Level Of Protection

At Bel-Air Cases, we can design heavy-duty shipping cases and carrying cases that meet ATA standards and most MIL specs, if needed. We’ve designed many cases for military clients and the aerospace industry, so if you need ATA cases or MIL cases, you’ve come to the right place.

Through the years, we’ve created custom shipping cases and carrying cases for a myriad of different types of equipment. Here are just a few examples:

• Lighting Equipment
• Camera Equipment
• Audio-Visual Equipment
• Music Equipment
• Diagnostic Equipment
• Military Gear & Equipment
• Aerospace Equipment
• Medical Equipment
• Sales Kits & OEM Cases

4. Customization

At Bel-Air Cases, our custom carrying cases, shipping cases and trade show cases can be customized in a number of ways. Aside from the many size configurations available, we also can add custom hardware to your cases, including wheels, feet and handles, including creating cases with telescoping handles and wheels.

We also can a myriad of different latches and locks to any case, and we can create custom engraved plates, custom decals or molded-in logos for your custom case. In addition to our standard colors of black and silver, we also have several additional stock colors including white, orange, yellow, blue, green and olive. In some cases, we also might be able to provide color matching or custom colors.

Custom Foam Interiors

At Bel-Air Cases, we don’t just design tough, durable case exteriors, we also design high-quality custom foam interiors for each case. Our custom foam will cushion every piece of equipment, protecting it from impact and vibrations.

Too often, when a person purchases a custom hard plastic case with foam inside, the case manufacturer simply hands it off to their client with a chunk of diced foam. This low-quality foam, also known as pick-and-pluck foam, forces the client to create cavities for their equipment, and if you are paying for custom equipment cases, we believe this should include a custom foam interior not just a hunk of cheap foam.

We are experts at crafting case interiors and while we certainly can provide you with just a simple, quality foam liner, we also can fabricate interior doors and windows, create custom die cuts for your equipment, add shock mounts and panel mounts and much more. Our padded equipment cases offer the ultimate level of protection for your equipment.

Contact Us Today!

If you need custom cases for equipment, the team at Bel-Air Cases is always here to help. To get started on your custom case project, just click on the Contact Us tab at the top of our homepage and fill out our quick contact form. A member of our sales team will be in touch as soon as possible to discuss your case needs.

Our protective, heavy-duty cases are built to handle frequent transport as luggage or freight and while this level of durability is crucial, that’s only one of several reasons to consider purchasing a custom Bel-Air hard case with foam.

Weatherproof & Protective In Any Environment

Every Bel-Air hard case with foam is built to handle the jostling and bumping that accompanies travel by plane, train, ship or even crossing a desert in a Humvee. But our equipment cases also are built to handle rugged environments.

Whether your transport case is sitting on a tarmac in the middle of a monsoon or being hauled across a remote rainforest, the equipment inside your case will be protected from the elements.

Need ATA cases? Our cases meet ATA specs as well as many MIL specs and our clients include various branches of the military as well as aerospace companies. If you need to trek out to the tundra or are planning on a mission to Mars, a Bel-Air hard case with foam can be equal to the task. Just let us know what you need, and we will build a case that suits your specifications.

Light In Weight & Easy-To-Maneuver

A durable, protective case shouldn’t be difficult to lug from place to place. The materials we use include hard plastic shells crafted from high-density polyethylene. While this material is durable, moisture-resistant and chemical-resistant, it’s also extremely lightweight.

This makes it easier to move from place to place, but also can reduce your shipping costs. Keep in mind, we can add wheels and telescoping handles to many cases to further increase your maneuverability.

Custom Foam Adds Extra Protection

Every Bel-Air case includes a custom foam interior. This could be a simple, quality foam lining or a complicated design that includes die cuts, interior walls and doors, plastic dividers, windows, shock mounts and panel mounts.

Many case manufacturers simply provide their customers with basic foam slabs or diced foam. This cheap pick-and-pluck type of foam breaks down quickly, and the customer is forced to cut away at the foam to create cavities for their equipment.

If you are paying for a custom hard case, we believe a custom foam interior should be included. We usually can construct a completely custom foam interior for around the same price as cases that are just filled with cheap pick-and-pluck foam.

Many Custom Features

Our cases are built to last, but we also offer our customers many stylish options. For instance, we can create cases with molded-in logos or perhaps engraved plates or custom decals.

Our standard case colors are black and silver, but we have several additional stock colors including white, orange, yellow, blue, red, green and olive. With a specific minimum order, we also can provide you with custom colors and perhaps color matching.

This can be a great option if you have to transport many cases at once. The custom color and logo can make your cases easy to identify. Additionally, if you need OEM cases, a custom color and molded-in logo or decal add a professional touch to your case design.

Additionally, we offer a wide assortment of hardware options including different types of case handles, case locks, hinges, latches and feet. If you don’t see precisely what you want, we usually can find a source for what you want.

Choose Your Case Type

At Bel-Air, we create three different types of hard cases with foam. Our medium-duty and heavy-duty carrying cases are ideal for lightweight and fragile items weighing about 30 pounds or less, as well as for sales kits, medical kits and diagnostic equipment.

The medium-duty carry cases are not meant to be shipped as freight but may be shipped as luggage occasionally. If you want a carrying case that can be shipped frequently either as freight or luggage, our heavy-duty carrying cases will be a better fit.

Our heavy-duty shipping cases are the perfect option for just about any type of equipment that you need to transport frequently. These cases can handle hundreds of trips with ease, and they include built-in protective bumpers and stacking lugs. These features ensure that the toughest part of your case absorbs impacts and not either the case hardware or the items inside the shipping cases.

We also offer custom expo cases, which also are often just called trade show cases. These heavy-duty cases are ideal for shipping and storing graphic materials, trade show displays and other objects that don’t fit into our regular-style shipping cases. These cases also feature a unique overlapping lid design which can reduce shipping costs by providing you with more case height flexibility.

Get Your Custom Case Quote

Whether you need just one hard case with foam or a fleet of cases, we can help. To get started, just click on the Contact Us tab and fill out our quick contact form or click on the Request a Quote form and provide us with a few details about what you need in terms of case design.