Company profile
- CobraHead LLC, www.cobraheadllc.com, is based in Cambridge, WI and produces and sells "The Best Tools In Earth®" - the highly acclaimed CobraHead® Weeder and Cultivator and the exceptionally useful CobraHead® Long Handle Weeder and Cultivator
- The CobraHead® is a multi-purpose, steel forged hand tool for use in gardening, horticulture, and agriculture that is superior to all similar tools
- CobraHead, LLC was founded in 2002 by Noel Valdes, an inventor, entrepreneur, and gardening enthusiast
Challenge
CobraHead’s founder, Noel Valdes, had developed the idea for this gardening hand tool. He had the patent pending design idea, and he had the market data to show the demand. What he was missing was a reliable, domestic hand tool forging source and the necessary metallurgical and production expertise. “I had made it my mission to have the tool made locally instead of overseas”, says Valdes. “I set out to find a partner in the Midwest who I could work with and trust.”
Solution
“Finding Green Bay Drop Forge, a well established Midwestern forger with a sincere willingness to be a partner to us, was the answer. Green Bay Drop Forge immediately showed exceptional and friendly encouragement in helping us get the tool designed and produced. They developed prototype-manufacturing prints and established tooling and manufacturing costs for both prototype and full production runs”, says Valdes.
Benefits
The scope of this project began with Green Bay Drop Forge providing metallurgical sampling and consultation to help determine the most ideal steel to be used for the CobraHead blade. Green Bay Drop Forge engineers also developed design prints that were then used by the tier-three vendors, including the handle concept and design. Well before manufacturing began, we worked with CobraHead to build prototype mockups, giving the customer the peace of mind of what to expect from our forging process.
Another added benefit delivered was Green Bay’s willingness and flexibility to commit to limited production runs, which allows CobraHead to minimize inventory holdings on an ongoing basis. “And in the case of larger production runs, Green Bay Drop Forge is just as flexible in their willingness to warehouse finished parts for us and ship to our production schedule needs”, says Valdes.
“Green Bay Drop Forge worked with us extensively on developing the most appropriate post-forging processes”, says Valdes. Working with CobraHead, our engineers developed sub-assembly procedures for the long tool. Green Bay Drop Forge continues today to provide assembly services in-house for CobraHead’s tools. Additionally, drawing on our extensive experience supplying industry-leading Agricultural, Lawn & Garden companies, Green Bay Drop Forge was able to recommend specialized heat treating and protective finishing applications that we knew would set their hand tool apart. Bringing trusted technologies and manufacturing insights from our experiences serving world-class OEM customers, and implementing those with emerging start-up companies is what makes Green Bay Drop Forge the preferred domestic forging supplier.
Results
The CobraHead is a unique tool. By partnering with Green Bay Drop Forge from the very beginning, CobraHead, LLC has developed a unique forged hand tool unlike any other. It has been enthusiastically endorsed by the most respected gardening journalists and horticulturists in the US, Canada, and the UK. “Over the years, Green Bay Drop Forge has consistently delivered exceptional quality, manufacturing expertise, and service. They are reliable and always accessible. We would simply not exist as a company without Green Bay Drop Forge. They are a true partner to us.”
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