Custom Cord Reels

For almost two decades, cord reels from our ProReel 3000 series have been custom modified to be mounted on industrial crane booms. When the client originally came to us they explained they needed a solution that would serve as a control system on the crane boom so we got to work developing a plan for the constant tension reel to assist movement to the end of the boom. Additionally, the custom bracket and reels needed to have weatherproof terminals to withstand the elements. With two separate crane styles, this has been a successful solution for years.

Safety was the primary concern when a small power door company came to Alert to design a solution for their commercial garage door systems. The answer was to develop a custom kit containing a 900 series constant tension cord reel and other custom components that control sensors and other safety functions on the door. Eventually that company sold their business to a larger one who retained us to continue manufacturing this custom solution. And when that company sold to an even larger one, that company continued our relationship as well. Over 20 years – and many thousands of units – later, this successful solution is still in the market and our client has expanded its use to security gates as well as being integrated into other safety packages.

Our constant tension cord reels have been successfully integrated in anything that moves in and out or up and down. When we had a client come to us looking for a constant tension cord reel solution to integrate into their industrial portable saw mills, we looked at the commercial garage door solution we had developed years before and modified it for this application. A custom 5000 series cord reel system was designed to be integrated into their mills to effectively power the safety controls on their equipment. Another win for one of our clients.

Manufacturing custom components for a company who ALSO provides high-end custom solutions can be a challenge to ensure they are getting exactly what they need to integrate into their products. Our client provides custom high quality AV furniture and carts to the electronic furniture market. The final product marries furniture design and function so the functional power components must be discreetly and securely mounted internally. This was an ideal scenario to integrate a custom retractable cord reel into their professional AV cart system. The reel was designed to include a triple tap on the end to provide extra power outlets to accommodate the needs of this application. And since quality control is a key part of their business model, we made sure that everything we manufactured met their extremely high standards.

For decades, Alert has worked behind the scenes designing and manufacturing internal components for a variety of clients. One long standing client relationship has seen years of projects together that includes over 50 variations of custom cord reels and brackets providing retractable charging cables for burden carriers, people movers, electric cargo and golf carts. We have designed reels containing different cord lengths, types, gauges, connectors and brackets to mount them all – some internally and some externally depending on the product. Whether working directly with the end user customer or the distributor as our client, we have provided consistent, retractable cord management on hundreds of thousands of burden carriers and small electric utility vehicles.

Grocery, home improvement and department stores often provide battery operated electric shopping carts for their retail customers with mobility challenges. Our client, a manufacturer of these rechargeable electric shopping carts, partnered with Alert to provide them a custom retractable cord reel system to manage their charging cord. The robust heavy duty design of the shopping cart needed to be met with a durable solution that could withstand extreme use in a variety of settings. We created eight solutions that included variations on cord lengths, types and other features. We also developed variations specific to their European market. This makes it easy for our client to offer their customers a product providing a comfortable shopping experience with the convenience of a retractable charging cord.

When looking at precision medical equipment the thought is usually on high-end performance. Rarely does one think of the inner components operating the equipment. In our case, Alert had been tasked with designing and manufacturing thousands of constant tension reels that serve as an internal component on MRI machines for people, and CT machines for the veterinary market. These custom reels and mounting brackets often have highly precise specifications for each piece – the reel, bracket and angles for the cord payout, and sometimes require specialty cord as well. Ensuring one hundred percent adherence to the specifications was key as our clients’ equipment must pass strict pre-market clearance by the FDA.