3 days ago
- Automotive
- Winnipeg Free Press
Always thinking inside the (bespoke) box
If you need something transported safely, get Gary Dealey on the case.
Dealey is the founder of Big Deal Custom Cases, a Winnipeg company that builds reusable shipping containers. Since opening its doors in 1976, the company has developed a reputation for quality products, quick service and reasonable prices.
Big Deal has taken on a variety of projects over the years, including wardrobe cases for Canadian rocker Bryan Adams, laptop cases for Microsoft Corp. and instrument cases for the Royal Canadian Air Force Band.
Firearms, tattoo machines, cameras — the company will build a durable container for any kind of equipment customers need to move around.
'It's an interesting business,' says Dealey, 71. 'You never know what's coming in.'
Like in 2010, when Big Deal built seven massive protective cases for NASA that were used to transport blankets and covers for the James Webb Space Telescope.
Each of the first five cases was 15 metres long and two metres wide, and the smaller two were each 10 metres long and one metre wide. NASA describes the Webb as the largest, most powerful and most complex telescope ever launched into space.
'It was pretty cool to be part of that,' Dealey says. 'How often do you get to be a part of something that can basically change the perceptions of the universe?'
Not bad for a company that got its start in the music industry.
In the 1970s, Dealey was touring as a stagehand for musicians such as Burton Cummings, Trooper and Pat Benatar. He started his business as a response to the damaged cases and equipment he encountered while on the road.
Occasional work loading boxcars for Canadian Pacific Railway gave Dealey further insight into the best ways to build ultra-tough boxes people can lift and shift with ease.
He started the business in between stints on the road. 'I'd do truck loading and then I'd see what all the competitors were making,' he recalls.
To this day, he appreciates receiving feedback from the people who are moving the cases he makes. 'It's not so much the purchasing guys, because they usually have no idea what's going on. You want to talk to the guys that are using it so that it makes their job easier.'
When Dealey was thinking of names for his new venture, Harlequin lead singer George Belanger looked up at Dealey's 6-4 frame and suggested Big Deal.
Today, the business is headquartered in an 8,000-square-foot space in the St. Boniface Industrial Park. Dealey has four employees on site, with an additional staff member (a draftsman) located in Vancouver.
'I come up with the ideas and they get the work done,' Dealey says. 'It's not just about me.'
The company has manufactured more than 30,000 cases since its inception and has an annual net revenue of around $1.5 million.
The company's offerings include hardwood cases, which are popular with customers in the entertainment industry. They're constructed using 3/4-inch plywood and reinforced with solid hardwood bracings.
Additionally, Big Deal offers an exclusive case design it calls FiberLex. These cases are made of twin-wall polycarbonate bonded to a fibreglass skin, combined with lightweight aluminum hardware. The company advertises it as the lightest custom case design available today.
Customers also have access to a range of other options, including a variety of plastic cases.
Dealey knows of customers who are still using cases the company built more than 40 years ago.
'We could make junk, but there's already companies doing that, so why try and compete with that?' he says. 'There's enough people that want quality and longevity, so that's what we do.'
Big Deal also does custom manufacturing, including millwork, furniture, props, displays, models and sculptures.
From the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra to Manitoba Hydro and from Magellan Aerospace to the Broadway musical The Lion King, Big Deal's cases are in all sorts of places.
Many of the keystone province's major sports teams use the company's products, including the Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have relied on Big Deal cases for at least 20 years, says Brad Fotty, head equipment manager.
When the CFL team is on the road, Fotty and his colleagues use anywhere from 10 to 18 travel cases to safely transport everything from jerseys to medical supplies.
'I can't thank him and his crew enough for all the years they've taken care of our stuff,' Fotty says. 'Gary's a phenomenal individual to deal with. He's always there to help and he's always thinking of different ideas you may not have thought of.'
That assessment of Dealey's out-of-the-box thinking resonates with musician Al Simmons, who has known Dealey since 1978. Dealey and his employees have helped Simmons build numerous custom pieces for his stage show.
'He just seems to be the kind of guy that doesn't say, 'No, that's impossible — we can't,'' Simmons says.
'If there was ever a world disaster and we were all sent back to caveman times — if we had no electronics, no nothing, we just had to survive in the wilderness — Gary would be the one you'd want to live near because he'd say, 'No problem. We've got these sticks, we've got these rocks, we've got this mud — we'll survive.' He's Mr. Fix-it in a huge way.'
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As he reflects on his work, Dealey mentions 'ikigai,' a Japanese concept referring to what an individual defines as the meaning of their life. Dealey's ikigai, he says, is solving people's problems. When he was younger, he envisioned becoming a 'go-to guy' — the kind of person others can rely on.
'And that's kind of what I turned into,' Dealey says, adding if he can't solve a customer's problem, he helps them find someone who can. 'It's always about trying to help; help the people get done what they need to get done.'
Fifty years into running Big Deal Custom Cases, Dealey has no interest in leaving the business.
'It gives me purpose,' he says. 'Everybody's saying I should retire, but I'm having too much fun to do that.'
Aaron EppReporter
Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. He was previously the associate editor at Canadian Mennonite. Read more about Aaron.
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