Industry Interview: Hardigg Cases
Interview with
Dan Klepacz
Government Product Manager
Hardigg Cases
Dan Klepacz is the government product manager of Hardigg Cases, a division of Hardigg Industries. Hardigg Cases is a leading manufacturer of government air-tight and water-tight shipping and storage cases. The company specializes in providing packaging solutions for the military and military suppliers of medical, information technology, communications, weaponry, aerospace and transportation logistics.
Q: How would you characterize the state of technology in cases manufacturing? Can cases be made lighter, stronger and still affordable?
A: Just like electronics—cases technology is always evolving. Between new lean manufacturing practices to the exploration of new plastics, the future looks very bright for Hardigg.
We are always looking into ways of improving our products because the philosophy is, if we don’t, someone else will. At Hardigg performance and durability are key factors. We believe that we need to do everything possible to ensure that the case solution protects the equipment so it arrives ready for action. Especially with medical equipment, lives are at stake, we don’t take this responsibility lightly. So when it comes to a new case technology, rest assured we will do our homework before we put the Hardigg name behind it. Be on the lookout for two new innovative products from Hardigg in 2008.
As for affordability, we recommend having authorized Hardigg dealers and packaging engineers involved in your project early so they can work with the customer on their requirements and provide a solution that meets their expectation and budget.
Early equals the best solution for the best price.
Q: How important is it to your customers to be able to customize cases to specific mission needs? Is there a normal turn-around time for special requests?
A: It is very important and critical for our customers to have customization options. Hardigg recognizes this importance by having a large engineering staff dedicated to helping our customers find the right solution or solutions for their equipment.
Our customers are also the reason why we have our current Mobile product lines [Mobile Medical, Mobile Master, Mobile IT, Mobile Armory, Mobile Office]; because of their custom needs we have developed standard product offerings that fulfill many of their current needs.
Turn-around time varies depending on the complexity of the custom case. But with our eight case centers across the United States, on-site packaging engineers and drafters we have the ability to service custom requests regionally which in turn provides a quick and accurate solution.
Q: You mentioned Mobile Medical, how is that line of cases performing for Hardigg?
A: The Mobile Medical line is performing extremely well for Hardigg. With the introduction of the MedChest Series 1-7, the 8- and 4-drawer cases that have ball bearing slides and customizable drawer inserts, the line continues to catch on and receive great feedback. Medical units are retooling with the Hardigg MedChests because of the durability these cases have shown, from the rotationally molded plastic to the riveted-on hardware, they can take tremendous abuse.
Q: Is Hardigg looking at branching into other product lines for the military?
A: Hardigg has branched into other product lines already. Some prime examples are:
The Hardigg Tacticool system is a portable military grade air conditioner that keeps electronics cool, dust free and operational.
The Technomad system is a military grade speaker system used from base- wide communication as well as training scenarios—this system is housed in Hardigg Cases.
The Hardigg FieldPak are Cordura nylon-constructed gun cases that hold two weapons and fit perfectly into our Storm rifle cases. They come in three sizes: DW3100, DW3200 and DW3300. We like to say we are showing our softer side with this product line.
Hardigg is very proud to say, we are more than just a case company. We are a company that provides proven solutions that protect the equipment protecting the warfighter for worldwide transport, storage and rapid deployment. ♦