Customer Project: Enhancing Tool Storage Efficiency with Custom Integrated Power Strips

Alert Reels Manufacturing sometimes needs to customize what may seem like a very basic application. About a decade ago, a major tool and toolbox manufacturer approached our booth at a national trade show, looking for a solution. They were looking for a way to integrate power into their toolboxes so end users could power everything they needed at their job site. In the beginning, we were able to design a couple of solutions that were exactly what they needed, and things just grew from there. 

Over ten years later, with this long-standing business relationship, we have helped develop a full line of power accessories for this client. Dave Collura, Business Development Manager for Alert Reel Manufacturing, has been around since the beginning. “In the beginning, there were just two versions of the power strip – the long one in a drawer and the short one integrated on the front. But over the years, the business evolved into 6 or 7 versions,” said Collura. 

Working within our client’s strict brand standards, we have helped design and manufacture a variety of power outlets and USB ports, including standalone in various lengths, mounted to the face of their toolboxes, in drawers, or on the back with a junction box. “As technology has evolved, we have adapted as well. Over the years, we’ve added USB, USB2, and other power ports as the needs have changed,” said Collura. 

Collura also added that Alert designed a version of their custom power strip that included an integrated cord track that helped to keep the cord in place. “As the drawer was pulled out and the cord was extended, the track extended with it. This keeps the cord from bending and allowing it to retract back without bending or binding when the drawer is closed. This has worked so well, this design is now being used in similar applications by other market leaders,” he said. 

Each of their SKUs was different lengths, had individual specs, and required a separate custom design solution to ensure proper integration and mounting. As their customer’s business needs have changed, adding power to their toolboxes has become less of an option and more of a mandatory feature, so this was a critical modernization for their product line. “We’ve maintained their inventory and fulfilled multipole orders per month for years,” said Collura, “easily amounting to hundreds of thousands of power strips over the years – maybe close to a million.”

Alert Reel: Custom Power Strips & Other Custom Power Products

At Alert Reel Manufacturing, we take great pride in providing customers with custom power strips and other products. Our custom power products can be installed on audiovisual carts, inside cabinets, under desks, within worktables, on carts used in healthcare facilities, and wherever our customers require electricity. We also offer private-labeled, off-the-shelf, and custom power products for a range of commercial applications.

Here are a few examples of custom power strip solutions from Alert Reel:

• Cubicles: Often found in educational and office settings, installing custom power strips for charging cell phones, laptops, and other electronic devices at cubicles for students or office workers, whether installed on a cubicle tabletop or wall.  
• Drawers: A custom power strip can be concealed by drilling holes in the back of a regular drawer, creating a hidden hiding spot for charging electronic devices.
• Mobile A/V cabinet: Creating a dedicated mobile charging station with a custom power strip offers a useful means for recharging audio/visual equipment or other electronic devices.
• Mobile Workstations: Mobile medical carts and workstations take information and technology wherever healthcare professionals go within a hospital, clinic or other healthcare setting. Integrated custom power strips allow additional professionals to utilize monitors, laptops, barcode scanners, imaging systems and more to be powered from the mobile workstation.
• Under desk: Mounting a custom power strip underneath a desk or table keeps workspaces tidy while enabling charging access for electronic devices where one works.
• Wall-mounted: Ideal for confined spaces, wall-mounting custom power strips offer greater convenience when space on horizontal surfaces like desks or counters is limited; wall-mounted stations can be an unpretentious single shelf with cutouts for cabling to more intricate solutions featuring inbuilt USB ports, wireless chargers, and other custom power products.

Our tailored solutions for bringing electric power to where it’s needed can involve separate units or be integrated into systems. Alert Reel Manufacturing partners with our customers to design the most suitable custom power products for the application, from simple custom power strips to extension cord reels built into mobile machinery. To learn more about our custom power products, contact the experts at Alert Reel today.