They may go unnoticed, but cases and bags are essential and unsung heroes. Many consumers take the utility of cases, bags, and other carrying solutions for granted.

However, Gator OEM Solutions is well aware of the value and importance of a reliable ‘carrying and transport solution.’ It protects and guards what people treasure and need. Gator also understands that consumers expect a product to come with its own case and will buy a product that comes with a bag over one that does not. This is why Gator OEM Solutions can help brands grow their business with high-quality, cost efficient manufacturing solutions.

Coming up with an ideal carrying and transport solution is no walk in the park. It requires thoughtful design, effective sourcing of raw materials, testing, and the rigorous process of balancing the quality of protection with real-world limitations such as manufacturing cost, weight, and dimensions. Moreover, once the case or bag is produced, manufacturers must address storage, logistics, and marketing requirements as well.

As a global manufacturing leader of bags and cases, Gator OEM Solutions expertly addresses these challenges and produces high-quality solutions that exceed consumers’ expectations. As experts in manufacturing purpose-built/ generic cases or bags to market, the Gator OEM team makes it easier and more efficient for brands to ideate, design, manufacture, distribute, and market their products.

Delivering Hands-On Expertise for Manufacturers – All-Star Team Support

“We are a one-stop shop for our OEM customers,” said Crystal Morris, founder and CEO of Gator Co.

Gator Co. has come a long way from its beginnings in the year 2000 when Morris and her father, Jerry Freed, founded the company. What started as a small, family-owned company with five cases has become an award-winning enterprise with over 1000 different carrying solutions made from vacuum-formed plastics, rotational-molded plastics, wood, sewn, and EVA materials.
Gator OEM Solutions is part of the Gator Co. parent company, which also includes well-established and successful brands—Gator Cases, Gator Frameworks, Gator Rackworks, Levy’s, and Slappa. Its OEM division serves to a wide variety of industries, spanning from medical device manufacturing, transportation, outdoor and recreation, military, industrial, music, pro-AV, IT to general utility.

The company’s product portfolio has expanded into stands, studio, stage, home, content creator accessories, straps, slings, racks and most recently furniture. This, in turn, has expanded its OEM capabilities.

Although Gator has successfully grown over the past 20 years, keeping its family values remains part of its core.

“Our customers and fans are part of the Gat.or family,” added Morris. “Their priorities are our priorities. Their problems are our problems to solve. Having our own manufacturing capabilities and product lines makes us a reliable partner because we better understand the manufacturers’ pain points and how to address them.”

Gator works closely with customers to determine the best materials for their bags and cases.

ABOVE AND BEYOND BAG, CASE AND ACCEESSORY SOLUTIONS – THE GATOR GUARANTEE

The company’s soughtafter industrial design team helps clients come up with the ideal solutions for their products. This team delivers 3D rendered designs, projecting different options for materials, style, manufacturing cost, and level of protection. The iterative process includes a lot of information gathering, sampling, testing, collaboration and joint review. Gator is experienced with every type of material for cases and bags to ensure customers have the right solutions.

When it comes to manufacturing the cases, Gator holds a strong footprint in the US and abroad. The company’s centrally located warehouse in Fort Wayne, Indiana, manufactures a wide range of products from rotationally molded plastic to wood and metal fabricated cases. Gator has established manufacturing capacities in Asia and Canada, requiring every manufacturing partner to pass a rigorous qualification process to meet high-quality standards. Gator has teams on the ground in Asia to collaborate daily with suppliers and complete regular audits and quality inspections .

“Our key manufacturing partners are all ISO9000 certified,” Morris confirmed. “Our team in China works directly with Asian factories to expedite new product development, assure quality, and continuously improve our processes and capabilities.”

By combining the best of both worlds—USA-made and offshore-made—Gator continually delivers exceptional finished products for its customers.

And that’s not all. Gator has a highly-skilled team of warehouse management specialists that deliver superior inventory management and shipping accuracy for its customers. The company’s warehouse—which is over 211,000 sq ft. with an expansion ability up to 300,000 sq ft.—in Indiana, enables cost-effective, prompt shipping across the US. Gator can ship cases directly to their clients’ customers to optimize their distribution.

Gator also delivers marketing resources and expertise to customers to drive higher demand and execute high-performing go-to-market campaigns for clients’ brands and products. Gator helps customers stand out from the competition with a talented in-house marketing and creative team that produces unique and compelling package designs, hang tags, photography, video, logos, digital and print assets and more.

Leading by Example: Exemplary Customer Success Stories

The many customer success stories continue to be Gator’s favorite reward.

Gator lives by its mission to ensure every one of its customers succeeds.
Morris reflected on a project with a customer who makes high-end precision instruments, including a very delicate, multi-component instrument that was about four feet tall. Because of the instrument’s complexity, the client needed to use multiple cases.

Unfortunately, the instrument and its components were often getting damaged in shipping and transport. Also, the cases were too heavy to carry and too bulky to use.

“It was a nightmare for the technician,” Morris said.

The client quickly needed a case solution with ultimate protection that was easy to transport and met the client’s budget. Gator had the perfect solution.

They used rotational molding and designed a rugged, heavy-duty external case that was ideal for shipping. Then, Gator designed a series of interior cases with foam nests for each component. Each interior case safely accommodated the various detachable and delicate components of the instrument and fit in the external case. As such, the technician could leave the big case behind and pull out the internal cases very easily and as needed. We filed for a joint patent on the internal case because it was so creatively built. The case would stay with the product until it was ready to be used to ensure that the product stayed safe for long hauls, even while using it more locally,” Morris added.

In fact, Gator holds several such patents, which speaks volumes about their value proposition and stance in the market.

Other customer success stories include a client increasing its sales by a whopping 269 percent, thanks to Gator’s faster lead times and more cost-efficient manufacturing, logistics, and marketing processes which benefitted the end users with better pricing

A Roadmap for Continued Success based on Market Trends

Gator has clearly carved a unique niche for itself in the OEM market as a multi-faceted, solutions-oriented partner who will drive positive results for its customers. Gator prides itself on invention, innovation and imagination.

Gator will continue to maximize opportunities in markets where it can lead with customer-focused solutions that exceed the needs and demands of the consumer.

For example, Gator even rolled out a unique, high demand line of masks to address the need for added health and safety protection. It includes a one-ofa-kind, multi-use cotton and polyester, double-layered face mask that allows people to drink through the mask without taking it off. It comes in sizes for both adults and children.

Gator continues to go from strength to strength, broadening its horizon to new markets such as outdoor and recreation, RV and anyone else who needs one of the many solutions Gator creates.

As brands are increasingly inclined to release accessories for their own products, Gator is primed for continued success and the future looks very bright for Gator and its customers.