OKW is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Flat-Pack Case, the world’s first standard plastic enclosure for electronic and electrical installations. The design suits desktop and wall-mount electronics in applications including medical, wellness, measurement, control, laboratory and computer peripherals.
The company states these robust housings owe their enduring popularity to their discreet, understated design and the robust tongue-and-groove construction which provides basic protection against dust and water ingress, even without a seal.
Flat-Pack Case development started in the late ‘60s when OKW’s CEO Dieter Schneider teamed up with the firm’s toolmaking, production and sales manager Erich Ettinger with the aim of creating a standard plastic housing that would suit a wide range of electronics applications. Design work continued into the 1970s and in 1975, Flat-Pack Case won two iF Design Awards in Hanover.
Design features include concealed fixing screws and the U-shaped top, which is easy to remove, exposing open sides that give greater access to the electronics for inspection and maintenance.