Hafer Case Incorporated

from Explore Rosenberg Magazine

by Explore America Holdings

POW Camp in Rosenberg

HAFER CASE INCORPORATED COOL GUYS WHO MAKE COOL CASES FOR COOL STUFF

Title paraphrased from an autographed photo from Pat Green to the guys at Hafer Case, signed— “thanks for all the cool stuff to put stuff in.”

WRITTEN BY SUSAN LOWE STRICKLAND PHOTGRAPHY BY BAC PHOTOGRAPHY AND DESIGN

Inever thought about how one might ship a dozen priceless Jimi Hendrix guitars from a small Texas Hill Country town to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. I never gave much thought about how the Texans get their football equipment from Houston to Pittsburgh for the big game. I guess I always figured that if Alabama’s Roll Tide planned to trample the Razorbacks in Fayetteville, they just packed up all the gear in a trailer and voila, it was there. Like magic.

Well, I was wrong about that. Apparently, this is not how it works, at all. If you have specially-designed equipment or instruments that must make it to a destination unscathed, you need a specially-designed case to get it safely there.

If you’re a major oil company giving a training presentation on a rig in the North Sea, and you need for all those big video screens and gadgets to arrive safely, you’ve got to have a protective case that can weather salty air and water.

Chris Gray sanding internal compartments for a case.

SO, HOW DO YOU GET STUFF FROM HERE TO THERE?

When ZZ Top needs their instruments to arrive unscathed in Chicago for a concert, they call their good buddies over at Hafer Case in Rosenberg. Billy Hafer, the founder and owner of the company has been building indestructible transit cases since the 1970s. Billy has been building all of ZZ Top’s cases for decades, and he affectionately refers to ZZ Top as “the boys.”

As a musician with the band Krystal Blue back in the 70s, and later with the Barons and Texas Pride and Chance, and now with the Triumphs, Billy knows the importance of protecting musical instruments and equipment. In the 70s, he bought a speaker box and wasn’t at all happy with it. With a real knack for woodwork and metal work, he thought, I can do this. I can make a better case. He did, and when his wife, Karen, convinced him that he could not make a living solely as a musician and when other musicians asked him to make cases for them, a business was born. Working first out of his garage and now in a large facility near downtown Rosenberg, the team at Hafer Case constructs the finest shipping boxes money can buy for musicians, churches, trade shows, and athletic trainers. Hafer Case has made a stellar reputation for itself. The cool guys at the company build cases for some of the biggest musicians, sports organizations, major corporations, and medical teams in the world.

JUST WHO ARE THESE “COOL” GUYS?

When I say these are cool guys, I mean just that. I met with a front office man, Don Drachenberg—who is also a musician and has been with the Triumphs since he sang with B.J. Thomas and had a number 3 hit on the Billboard Charts. We met in his somewhat chaotic but most interesting office at Hafer Case, with its assortment of esoteric musical instruments; file boxes and shipping crates; and photographs from days gone by. The first thing I noticed—besides the smiling, ponytailed, mustached, t-shirted, ball-capped Don, himself—was a sign that read, “No Stupid People Beyond This Point.” Hoping I could pass muster and not fit into that category, I did have to reluctantly admit to him that, prior to two weeks before, I had never heard of Hafer Case. He told me that was all right; I wasn’t alone. The company doesn’t advertise much; rather, they prefer to earn customers through word of mouth. He then proceeded to teach me everything I needed to know about the customers, the equipment, and the techniques of building a Hafer Case.

While I spent the morning with Don, some prospective buyers came in to look through the Bone Yard. Hafer Case’s Bone Yard consists of shipping containers that were never picked up or were the wrong size or were built as prototypes—just something a little off but now offered at a discount price.

The business is run with a democratic sensibility. Billy Hafer won’t ever ask anyone to do something he would not do. Self-taught, he can operate and fix any machine in the facility. The relaxed atmosphere was evident when Billy’s granddaughter Brandy came to work with her basset hound Walter. Walter stopped by to say hello and receive a tummy rub then moseyed into the office. “We’re a family, here,” Don says. I could certainly see that.

To be sure, there is also a serious side to Hafer Case, Incorporated. They build the best custom-built, reusable shipping cases money can buy. Designed to protect highly regarded cargo in transit, they are constructed out of ABS plastic-covered plywood in whatever color the customer wants, with long metal edges and corners that are cut and shaped in house, with sturdy reinforced hinges and latches.

Office Staff (left to right): Don Drachenberg, Billy Hafer, Brandy McCullough, and John Anderson

Most containers have heavy-duty wheels and metal handles geared for the heaviest loads. Using ozite (a carpet-like material), different densities of foam, or sometimes velour, the interior of the cases are meant to coddle and protect any cherished cargo.

Jeremy Rodriguez assembling a case with the split rivet machine

Carlos Vasquez doing custom foam interior for a case

All of the cases are designed by Bill Hafer and John Anderson, a long-time friend of Billy’s who has worked with him (and performed with him in various bands) since he got his business going.

Hafer Cases are made for conventioneers, for church keyboardists, for trade show video screens, for weird tools with weird shapes that extract oil from the ground, for laptops, and for medical equipment needed by athletic trainers (some even equipped with fold-out tables for treating injured players). One case held an electric refrigerator, complete with built-in electric sockets. Every case is a bit different, uniquely designed by Billy Hafer for the individual needs of the client.

A few years ago, the New York Chief Medical Examiners office submitted a huge order for a disaster medical treatment setup (just in case the city might ever need one). When there was a modification needed with the New York order, Billy and Don flew to NYC and rented a big truck to bring the entire case order back to Rosenberg. After loading up the cases to bring back to Texas to make the adjustments, they turned the drive home into an adventure. They got lost somewhere around Memphis in the middle of the night, saw flashing lights behind them, and waited for the officer to take one look at their long hair before asking, “Where you boys headed? And, whatcha got in the back of the truck?” Billy started explaining to the officer about the order needed for the medical examiner’s office, about the ozite and the foam densities and the modifications requested for the containers, and the journey from Texas to New York to pick them up. At that point, the officer raised his hand to stop the overly complicated explanation. “Nobody would make up a story like this,” he said. “You boys go on now.”

I did not make up this story, either, and “the boys” are still going. The cool guys at Rosenberg’s Hafer Case are still making cool cases for cool stuff. v

HAFER CASE, INC. 1018 Mulcahy • Rosenberg, TX (281) 341-5070 h a f e r c a s e . c o m

(Group Photo): Joe Kirkpatrick, Manuel Vasquez, Jeremy Rodriguez, Chris Gray, John Anderson, Rajean Lott, Willie Tondre, Carlos Vasquez, Jessie Jasso, Brandy McCullough, Billy Hafer, and Fred Rubio

COOL CASES

A couple of years ago when Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys needed a case built especially for a “tannerene”—a strange little keyboard that makes that eerie, whining sound in their song “Good Vibrations,” he called upon Billy Hafer.

When the Rockets needed cases for their players’ shoes, they sent along one of Hakeem Olajuwon’s, just to make sure the cubicles were large enough to fit the rest of the team members’ shoes.

When the Vatican needed holy relics shipped from diocese to diocese around the United States, they relied on Hafer Case to make sure the antiquities were safe.

When ZZ Top drummer, Frank Beard, goes on tour, his dog Gizzmo travels with him. Hafer designed and built a “touring wardrobe case” just for Gizmo. When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame held an exhibition of Jimmy Hendrix collectibles, Hafer Case made all the containers in a “Purple Haze” color.

When a large oil company needed a $35,000 case that weighed over 1000 pounds, housed sensitive instruments and tools, and had to be impervious to salt water, the company trusted only Hafer Case.

For a presentation, Samsung wanted all lime green cases for video screens. Hafer built them lime green ones.

Hafer made the case for the Rotary Lombardi Trophy— which is actually a big block of granite that is awarded annually to the best college lineman or linebacker.