WebCitz started working with this client in 2013
- Client: Duralight Plastics
- Platform: WooCommerce
- Industry: Manufacturing / Industrial
- Services: Ecommerce, Maintenance / Support, Web Development, Web Hosting
The Challenge
Duralight Plastics, a leading supplier of polycarbonate and PVC sheeting, deals with products that are notoriously difficult to ship. Their catalog includes massive custom panels that require specialized LTL (Less-Than-Load) freight rather than standard parcel carriers. They needed a website that could:
- Calculate Complex Dimensions: Handle custom-cut lengths and widths for various plastic paneling.
- Automate Freight Logistics: Determine crate sizes based on those dimensions and fetch real-time LTL shipping quotes at checkout.
- Support a Multi-Brand Organization: Provide consistent technical support for their parent company and several sister organizations.
The WebCitz Solution
For over a decade, WebCitz has been the technical backbone for Duralight’s online operations:
- Strategic Platform Evolution: We successfully navigated them through three major platform eras. We moved them from the restrictive Magento Go to Magento 1.x CE, and eventually performed a full migration to WordPress / WooCommerce. This final move provided the team with a more manageable backend while allowing for deep technical customization.
- Custom Freight & Crate Logic: This is the “heavy lifting” of the project. We developed extensive custom coding within WooCommerce that:
- Analyzes the specific length and width of the panels in a customer’s cart.
- Automatically calculates the required crate size for those specific items.
- Interfaces with freight carriers to fetch real-time LTL quotes, including lift-gate and residential delivery options.
- Technical “Closer” for Design Agencies: While another agency recently handled the visual redesign, WebCitz remains the exclusive partner for maintenance and custom programming. We stepped in to handle the complex database work, API integrations, and logic updates.
- Enterprise-Level Support: Beyond the flagship store, we manage the web presence for their parent company and several sister brands, providing a unified technical standard across their entire corporate organization.
The Result
Duralight Plastics now operates one of the most sophisticated shipping engines in the plastics industry. By automating the freight quoting process – a task that usually requires manual office work – the website functions as a 24/7 sales and logistics coordinator. Our decade-long partnership has ensured that through every redesign and platform shift, their complex business logic remains intact and high-performing.
