Statistics from the National Truck Equipment Association indicate commercial (cargo) van sales increased by 56.7% between 2013 and 2019, and there's no sign of that trend slowing down. While cargo vans are becoming more and more common for delivery services (if you've had an Amazon delivery lately, you know this to be true), they're also widely used by businesses of all types as service vehicles. 

Larger vehicles, such as box trucks, will always have a substantial market position for their advantage in capacity. This is especially true for delivery services as their size advantage allows for the delivery of larger items and helps to minimize trips. However, cargo vans generally cost less to purchase, and their smaller size makes them more fuel-efficient and able to fit into tighter spaces. This economy and agility make cargo vans a better choice for delivering smaller parcels and for use as service vehicles.

Easy Open Vents by Austin Hardware®

Our engineering team here at Austin Hardware® would like to introduce another patented solution for your business: the Easy Open Vent. This patented design opens both left-facing and right-facing, making it an easily adaptable solution for different applications and industries. Designed with the end-user in mind, the Easy Open Vent or EOV is a great solution for your ventilation needs.

Another great design aspect is that the EOV also has three different adjustment levels per side. It also has low-profile and raised-profile options and both right and left opening capabilities. You can also customize this product with different materials and sizes depending on your specific needs.  

Companies are looking for ways to safely allow employees to return to the workplace as businesses open back up amid the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the primary modes of transmission of COVID-19 is via airborne droplets.

A simple solution to mitigate the transmission of these droplets is to place a physical barrier between employees working in an office environment. Placing a partition at individual workstations, and other key areas throughout the business can help to insulate workers from the potentially virus-carrying particulates emitted by others.  

At Austin Hardware®, we are your source for research and development, design, manufacturing, and more. We have extensive custom engineering capabilities and pride ourselves on providing some of the best engineering solutions across the industry.

Austin Guaranteed Engineering Solutions™

Why should you work with our team? The answer is simple: we have the knowledge, experience, and track record to get the job done right. Our engineering and design team is with you every step of the way, from concept to finished product. We can help improve product design, functionality, and user experience while assisting with costs, sourcing, and manufacturing time. Combined, our team has over 100 years of experience and more than 25 patents. We are also ISO 9001:2015 certified for hardware and fastener products.

Prototyping Capabilities

Our engineering team is capable for your entire product design process, including the crucial step of prototyping. From research and development, all the way to product launch and everything in between, we are your source. Designing your prototype is an essential part of product development. Our team understands the need to assist with this stage of design. If your business is sourcing a custom engineered product, you know that the prototype stage is critical to test functionality and meet your specific design needs. Our team carefully evaluates your concept and can choose from a variety of prototyping capabilities to help you design a low cost and effective prototype.

Enclosed trailer and horse trailer manufacturers, which are fabricated from aluminum in particular, often have trouble with 3-piece rear door and ramp door hinge alignment.

It takes a precise measurement and careful hands to align most standard 3-piece rear and ramp door hinges correctly due to the challenge of laying the hinge flat for welding or bolting. This can add an inordinate amount of time to the assembly process. Additionally, while most assemblers get close, even a slightly misaligned hinge can adversely affect its durability and longevity. These are two critical expectations for buyers of high-end aluminum trailers.

The two primary linkage options available for your multi-point latches are Rods and Cables. Each offers a different set of advantages and disadvantages. 

If you're debating which is right for your application, here's a breakdown of our findings. 

Rods are more common in multi-point latch applications for several reasons, but primarily because of their durability. They are generally stronger and more durable than cables. Financially, while the cost of the raw materials for rods and cables is very close, rods tend to be more economical than a complete cable system. Cables systems require more components for assembly, thus making them more complex and costly to use. Many companies will form rods on their own, which also can help to keep costs down. 

When it comes to Drawer Release Systems, there are a variety of ways you can incorporate them into your work truck, utility vehicle, or emergency vehicle. Drawer release systems are a great way to organize tools, emergency equipment, safety supplies, and more while keeping everything safely stored while the vehicle is in motion. These are just a few of the ways that you can use our products, but the possibilities are endless. There are many different types of drawer release systems and methods to be custom-fitted or designed for your specific needs.

When it comes to safety, LifeDefender™ not only meets the industry standards, we helped to establish them. From our beginnings, we worked with a select group of emergency vehicle and ambulance manufacturers to set the toughest safety standards as well as design products that meet these standards. Our rigorous safety standards keep occupants inside emergency vehicles safe during transport. Austin Hardware's LifeDefender™ Cabinet Security Frames have been designed to provide a solution to meet the *SAE, CAAS GVS & NFPA safety standards. In addition to meeting strict safety standards, our frames are crash tested to ensure that the vehicle occupants, ems workers, and patients are safe during transport and in case of an accident.  

Not only is safety our top concern, but we also created a top-quality design for all of our products. We utilized our custom engineering services to create efficient, quality designed products. The LifeDefender™ line designs feature a quick and easy install for quick assembly of emergency vehicles. Our cabinets are designed for ease of use, and some only require one-handed use for on-the-go applications. The simple, functional design is not only handy but is also suitable for many different uses, including marine and RV applications. LifeDefender™ has designed one tough frame and offers a variety of products to fit different needs and applications. Each product is designed with safety in mind as well as easy installation and use.  

Austin Hardware & Supply, Inc. has received Patent No. US 10,004,331 B2 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the company’s Front Drawer Release (FDR).

The FDR was invented by engineers Mark Jeffries and Rusty Smith in 2009, and a patent request was filed in 2011. It was designed as part of a complete system to easily latch and unlatch the drawers in heavy duty industrial drawer systems used in vehicular applications.