ANAHEIM, CA – Along with the challenge of opening up five satellite campuses at the same time right before Christmas, Saddleback Church suddenly had a staggering need for custom cases. The organization is renting schools for Sunday services and religious education, so these churches had to roll in and out 52 Sundays a year.
They turned to StageGear to make 160 cases in just nine weeks, a project that normally would have taken closer to four months.
"The main reason we go to them is the quality of their cases," said Saddleback technical director Greg Baker. "We've ordered from others but they have fallen apart. StageGear makes great hardware, and that's what we needed – we needed these to last as long as possible, because they are getting transported every single weekend."
"In the past we have supplied cases to two other campuses, one at a time," StageGear president Bob Blackhurst said. "That's how they got to know us and appreciate the way we do business. But this – when they called and asked if we could do it, I said, I don't know!" It was the largest invoice the company has ever handled and the most work done in the shortest amount of time – they hired on six extra pairs of hands to get through it.
"The large cases have TVs and DVDs in them for use in all their Sunday classes for kids from toddlers to teens," said Blackhurst. "A lot of those, and additional custom cases, have to also hold typical supplies needed for those kids." Twenty of these hold 26-inch displays, and another 10 hold 42-inch screens.
Many of the cases were for audio gear. QSC speakers of various sizes were placed in 24 cases. Also, specific cases for Avid and Yamaha audio consoles were created so they could roll in, take the top off and be ready to go with a single multipin connector. They also created cases to handle their considerable wireless needs, and others for their snakes.
"We built these as we do all our custom cases – all out of birch plywood and covered with our Duramax carpeting and Everoll casters," Blackhurst said. "We countersink and recess all the hardware so in the truck it's carpet to carpet and not hardware to hardware.
"The first couple of weeks I didn't sleep much!" he added. But he met the deadline and they are extremely happy with the product. "They couldn't stop telling me how much they appreciate the quality and our ability to come in on time and on budget. They know our cases aren't the cheapest, but they are worth every penny."
Baker said he liked the way they could work together on the design. "Sometimes we had very specific needs – storage area here, a drawer here, a door there – and they just put it together. We're extremely happy with the cases."
For more information, please visit www.stagegear.com
