Thank you all for your inputs.
Sean,
I've applied to HDL for opening an account today, hope they'll respond soon.
Scott,
I tried to open an account on Häfele website even before I posted the question here, but was unable to reach a page where one could register for an account.
I left a message regarding that problem, but nobody reached back to me as of today. That was one of many reasons I came here to complain :)
In the meantime I tried to open registration page this evening again, and this time it worked :)
I filled in the data just now and I'm waiting confirmation email.
Jim,
my customers are 95% rental management companies that take care of rental properties that are not exactly high end. The only two things they care about is price and speed. Although my cabinets are strong enough as any other, the installation needs to be fast and functional, not beautiful. The average length of cabinet/kitchen life in such environment is only a few years, due to renter's negligence, cleaning crews that soak everything in whatever chemistry they use for cleaning between two renters, painting companies that overspray everything, pest control that sprays everything, roof leaks and water pipe bursts that flood everything and occasional axe(?!) damages or some people using countertops as a chopping board and so on.
Even before old renter moves out, they already rent the unit for the next one. Usually time between old one moving out and new one moving in is less than two weeks, sometimes just a week. In that time frame drywall, painting, flooring, cleaning and many other repairs need to be done, as well as complete kitchen or at least some cabinets (if not complete kitchen than usually base cabinets and the wall cabinet above the rangehood).
They do not examine the situation till the old tenant moves out, so that leaves just a week or two to finish all those works, and usually just a day or two for kitchen installation, which has to be synchronized with all other vendors and their parts. And then I have to fabricate everything before the installation.
Cabinets need to be easily replaceable as a separate units, as well as drawers and doors. Since nobody really cares how drawers look or how they are made (just how fast and how cheap they can get them) I want to make life easier for myself. That's why metal boxes. Besides that, I myself really don't find anything wrong with them, in my kitchen or any other whatsoever. I know some people have stronger opinions on that, especially cabinet fabricators, but I don't.
However, if I could find any cheaper and faster way of doing it I would have no problems with it either.