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| HARDIGG'S MILITARY CASES: PROTECTING THOSE WHO SERVE |
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| HARDIGG'S MILITARY CASES: PROTECTING THOSE WHO SERVE |
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Hardigg Company History In 1954, Jim Hardigg founded Hardigg Industries, Inc., in a one-room office in Washington, DC. A mechanical engineer with five years' experience in the aircraft gas turbine division of a large company, Jim saw the need for a safer, more reliable means of shipping aircraft and missile parts. He began making cushioning devices of polyurethane foam, cooking the first prototypes in his mother's oven. A few months later, he moved his operation into part of a small building in Bethesda, Maryland. An ad in the paper brought part-time help from Scotty Spink and John Miller. The three fitted boxes with the cushioning devices Jim had invented, launching the first Hardigg product into the market. In 1956, the fledgling company moved to an old grain mill outside of Boston. There the three men produced a type of cushioned package that gained acceptance with the electronics companies along Route 128. In 1958, Hardigg moved the business to western Massachusetts, renting part of a mill building in South Hadley Falls. Norm Barstow and Joe Strzegowski joined the growing company. Today they serve as chief packaging engineer and chief engineer, respectively. In 1961, Hardigg Industries, Inc. settled in South Deerfield, breaking ground on a new facility. Innovation did not stop there. In 1970, Hardigg Industries, Inc. produced its first rotomolded container, finally fitting its own cushioning systems into its own boxes. Hardigg was the first case manufacturer to make a rotomolded container that was both airtight and watertight. Hardigg was the first to mold stainless steel inserts into cases, adding hundreds of pounds of pull strength to latches and hinges, and it was the first to design containers with interlocking ribs, making them more stable when stacked. Before engaging Hardigg as a military case supplier, our military customers used wood and metal boxes. Hardigg was the first to supply them with plastic cases. Today, Hardigg employs more than 400 people. The original South Deerfield headquarters has expanded into a 275,000 square foot manufacturing facility with an on-site testing lab, and a two-storey, 25,000 square foot office building. Our products are used to ship and store government, military, industrial, emergency, high-tech, and homeland security equipment. With distribution centers in Europe, California, Texas, Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, Massachusetts, and a nationwide network of dealers, Hardigg has come a long way from our humble beginnings in a one-room office in Washington, D.C. Hardigg has never abandoned its original mission: to make cases that are as light as they are rugged. To keep costs down and build good relationships. Over the past fifty years, shipping and storage products grown and changed, but Hardigg values have not. Hardigg is engineering a better case for protection. Every day. Learn more about our company and history. Place an order today.
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