When BEAD funding is released, telecommunications companies will want to make sure they’re working with a quality solutions partner to ensure they’re getting the most bang for their buck in regard to enclosures.
Providers want to partner with a company that will take their needs and products into consideration to provide quality enclosures with the features the provider wants. This means working with an experienced enclosure manufacturer who truly cares for its customers. In addition, providers who want to take advantage of BABA benefits need to also look for a compliant OEM for their telecom projects.
At American Products, we strive to add the most value to every enclosure through integration, U.S. manufacturing, quality processes and more.
How We Add Value to Telecom Projects
BABA Compliant
As part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act, the government established the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act. It requires that when seeking federal funding for their telecom and/or energy transition projects, organizations ensure that a majority (at least 55%) of a project’s component costs include American-made iron, steel, construction materials, e.g., non-ferrous materials like aluminum, and manufactured products.
At American Products, BABA-compliance is already built into our DNA, and has been for decades.
We craft every cabinet and shelter in our Strafford, MO, manufacturing facility, just as we have for more than 20 years.
Our purchasing team strives to source American-made materials and components when possible.
This means every enclosure we offer will help satisfy BABA compliance for your project.
In addition, being located in America’s Heartland provides us easy access to some of the major shipping highways. This means finished enclosures can typically reach any location in the contiguous U.S. in just two days.
You can get certain products even faster thanks to our Quick Ship program! Contact our enclosure specialists to learn which enclosures qualify.
Tailored Solution Integrations
Factory integration is key to getting a ready-to-deploy enclosure solution versus just a cabinet or shelter.
Before designing a solution, the American Products team works closely with customers their specific challenges, network and equipment needs and priorities and more. We care about solving challenges upfront and helping mitigate the chance of them down the road. That requires us getting as much details as possible.
This will help us provide the customer the best guidance regarding integrations.
Sometimes, this includes helping the customer find alternative solutions that fit their needs better and/or can help them save money in ownership costs. For example, some customers believe they need an air conditioning unit to maintain the proper interior for their equipment. At times, American Products has been able to calculate and prove that a heat exchanger cost more up front but will have less operating costs over time. It would still maintain the proper interior temperature, and the provider would see an ROI on the investment over time, ultimately making it more profitable.
Our team can also provide insight into areas the customer might be unsure of, such as backup power needs, load center requirements and rack sizes.
We can often also integrate components the provider already has in stock.
This helps ensure that when the provider receives their enclosure, they are ready to deploy. They won’t have to schedule specialized team members to visit the site to do much more than hook up power and go. This saves costs and helps keep the project on deadline.
Quality
American Products has decades of experience producing enclosures for telecom projects, which means we’ve had decades of experience fine-tuning our processes just right. From the way our sales team provides top-tier customer service to our talented manufacturing team’s dedication to perfection, we have honed every step to ensure we are designing and crafting the industry’s finest enclosure solutions.
Our drive for quality is obvious from the start. Before the enclosure is crafted, our team carefully details the customer’s chosen solution. We can even show them a detailed diagram of the enclosure so the customer can see the exact layout of the cabinet. Our team can then answer any questions or make any adjustments early on.
Our set processes ensure every product is built, wired and otherwise outfitted to exacting specifications every time. This means that wiring is always done the same way. Controls are standardized. When the provider receives their enclosures, they will find each one is identical inside. To help further, we provide schematics to the customer. This makes it easy for technicians to service the enclosure as they will have a detailed diagram of where everything is located.
Like our customers, we set high standards for quality in our products, and we have a number of methods for proving that in-house.
For fiber optics integrations, we have a dedicated clean room for installation. Fiber installation is only done by (AFO) certified fiber technicians. The fiber installation room also includes a thermal chamber to test incoming fibers.
We also do our own NEMA testing in-house to ensure our products meet and/or exceed industry standards.
American Products also offers contract manufacturing, where we have worked with the largest telecom providers to craft their cabinets in-house. These providers trust our team to build and ship their products without oversight. This is a testament to our quality manufacturing processes and overall integrity.
Expertise
Through the decades, the American Products team has worked with a variety of providers, allotting us a wealth of insight knowledge into the telecommunications industry. We have seen the variety of challenges providers face and have had the opportunity to help overcome them. Providers can rest easy knowing we likely have a solution for the challenges they face.
This experience also means we have close relationships with vendors and deep knowledge regarding components. We can help providers find ways to enhance their cabinet’s ROI, lower operating costs and more. For example, we can help a provider determine if switching to hardened equipment would be more beneficial in the long run or not.
Our vendor relations also keep us up-to-date on new technologies that could benefit the provider.
At American Products, our ultimate goal is to provide our customers the most value possible in the form of a quality built, factory integrated enclosure solution. We do this by ensuring the cabinet size and integrations actually meet the customers needs. We also add value by ensuring every American Products enclosure will help providers meet BABA compliance requirements for their project.
If you’re interested in learning more about how we add value to enclosures in telecom projects, please contact our enclosure specialists at 417.736.2135.