The Birth of the Case Factory
The end of the summer of 2014 and great timing. One of the founders, Henri, received a message from is soon-to-be business partner: “Do you know how much one of those automated machine tools would cost?” That sentence was the starting point of a partnership manufacturing flight cases. In his professional career Matti had faced a problem and solving it required fresh skills. The event tech industry was booming and protective flight cases were in demand. The challenge was to carry out customized solutions in Finland.
“There is this one space in Hamula, Keitele”
The company’s sales book was opened way before they had premises or equipment. The partners quickly established a limited company remotely on a weeknight, on opposite sides of Finland. The first woodworking machines were bought second-hand and the barnhouse of an old cow ranch became the company’s business premises. Since the ranch had already been shut down a while before and and the autumn days were getting darker and darker, the barnhouse was as cold as the outside air.
The first cases were manufactured by hand with the temperature being under 0C, until we decided to make an investment to improve the production process. We bought our first machining center and started planning to transform the premises into a real workplace. For years we worked long shifts every day of the week. Manufacturing flight cases wasn’t our only challenge, but we had to renovate the old barnhouse into a technical production facility, too. The entrepreneurs gave their everything.
Experience and know-how
Matti had years of experience of working in the AV industry, and Henri had the know-how of civil engineering design. From early on we decided to execute product design digitally, because both founders were fascinated by precision and accuracy. Our thought were validated once we realised that our first automated machine tool could execute our plans with 0,05 mm accuracy.
From the very beginning Casemakers has been a pioneer in the industry, and the company has created solutions that many of the “old hands” in the industry have since started using, too. We opened the first online shop to sell flight cases to consumers in Finland in 2017. Our activity was acknowledged and in 2018 the entrepreneurs were awarded the Young Entrepreneur of the Year -award. The company’s efficient investing in modern industrial machinery was noticed as well as the excellent quality of the products, and the company started receiving orders from abroad as well.
The Future of the Case Factory
The company’s strategy includes efficiency, ecology, development and service-based solutions. Our goal is not to be the biggest flight case manufacturer in the world, but rather the best. The even more efficient utilisation of materials as well as circular economy of waste management will be new aspects in developing of the company. Industries reform and necessities change, so the developing of flight cases will continue actively.
