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.

Since 1960, we've worked hard to develop quality engineered solutions for the many different industries we serve. What started as a small, family-owned business has grown into the business you see today. We currently have 9 locations strategically located throughout the country to fully serve all regions of the U.S. and Canada.

Today, Austin Hardware® is the go-to specialty product and hardware supplier of choice for businesses in dozens of industries. Our Engineering team will work with your business to understand your needs and help identify your goals. 

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 of 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.

When it comes to work truck safety, staying safe on the road is just as important as keeping your equipment safe, secure, and up to date. In addition to keeping your truck safe, it is essential always to follow DOT guidelines and ensure that your team knows local and state safety regulations.

Keeping your work truck means knowing when to stay safe and finding the right products that assist with your safety and peace of mind. At Austin Hardware®, we know trucks, and we know a thing or two about providing quality parts and products for your work truck.

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.

When it comes to outfitting your work truck with the best on the market, let Austin Hardware® be your guide for all things work-truck related. We carry the top of line merchandise from lighting, drawer systems, handles, hinges, locking mechanisms, and more. Even better, Austin Guaranteed Engineered Solutions™ provides businesses like yours with state-of-the-art products guaranteed to give you the solutions you need. 

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.

Drawer slides assist in the opening and closing of drawers. From emergency and utility vehicles to server racks, battery trays, and medical equipment cabinets, the list of uses for drawer slides in vehicular and industrial applications is virtually endless. 

Choosing the right drawer slide for your application requires the answers to a few questions.

• What is the drawer used for, and how much weight will it be required to handle (load capacity)? 
• What are the environmental conditions in which it will primarily operate? Must the drawers lock in any position (i.e., open position, closed position, both, or neither)?
• Must the slides contain a disconnect to allow for the complete removal of the drawer?
• How much space is available, and how much of the drawer must be easily accessed?
• How often will the drawer be accessed?
• How much of a factor are aesthetics (i.e., will the slide be hidden)?

Often, the most critical element to determine, and the best way to begin to narrow down your options, is your required load capacity. From there, you can start to explore the available options. 

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.