Where innovation meets conversation – ProtoPod takes you behind the scenes of tech and design. New episodes every Wednesday!
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Learn about the journey of Protocase since our founding in 2001.
"At Protocase, we're changing the way that engineers and designers think about electronics enclosures."
Protocase is rooted in the work experience of our founders, both of whom are engineers. One worked in product development and low-volume manufacturing, and the other in R&D. In 1999, they had a casual conversation with a third engineer about a common frustration:
"How difficult it was to get a metal shop to build a run of 10 custom rackmounts. He found a shop to take the work, but they couldn't paint it. Another shop would powdercoat it, but couldn't silkscreen. The wasted time was frustrating."
This story resonated with our founders, who had experienced the same pain in their working lives. So, they built a unique business that provided fully finished custom enclosures with a 2-3 day turnaround, no minimum orders, and super service from sales and tech.
Although starting with just a handful of local customers, the concept took off. We now have more than 300 employees on our team, and 16,000+ loyal customers who work for organizations ranging from small businesses to the best-known technology companies and research institutes worldwide.
But at the end of the day, it is the unparalleled simplicity, service and speed that keeps our customers coming back. Check out what some of our customers have to say about their experience with Protocase.
The vision behind Protocase came from two engineers who experienced firsthand the challenges of enclosure procurement. Their combined expertise and passion led to the company you see today.
P. Eng. (Mechanical)
President and Cofounder
Background
I spent about a decade with a company that developed and manufactured marine navigation for military and commercial applications, rising to VP Manufacturing.
On procuring enclosures for manufacturing:
We developed sophisticated leading-edge electronics, and then manufactured them in small, high value runs. Setting up for these manufacturing runs always took a lot of effort, but procuring enclosures was always way more difficult than it should have. The problem was that we did runs of 5, 10 20, and 50, and no one seemed truly interested in our business.
Lead times were way too long, and because of this, there was no opportunity to address the inevitable problems that occurred. And worst of all, I had to deal with this same challenge over and over again because our suppliers just couldn't do what we needed.
Vision for Protocase
I was convinced that if we could help people like me save time and effort, that we'd have a winner. Close to 20 years later, with 16,000+ customers worldwide, I know my feeling was correct. Now I'm focused on growing this company while still maintaining the speed and excellent service that got it to where it is now.
Ph.D. (Mechanical Engineering)
Co-founder and Vice-President
Background
I had such a great time in University that I spent a dozen years there. After that, I started a company that did research in advanced materials and associated manufacturing processes.
On buying enclosures for R&D:
In the R&D world, you usually don't have much buying power. Sales people are hoping they'll hear from a purchasing agent who's looking for 10,000 units. When they find out that I'm only looking for quantity one, they make it fairly clear that they're not really interested.
So when it came to putting my electronics in enclosures, the only option was to buy off-the-shelf enclosures from a catalog. I spent a lot of hours working with dull grey metal boxes, drilling holes and filing, and cutting my hands on sharp edges. At the end of the day, I'd put in a lot of hours, and had nothing more than an ugly hacked up box.
His vision for Protocase
Steve and I thought that if executed properly, then super-fast, template based, made-to-order enclosures could make the whole 'modified off-the-shelf' approach obsolete.
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