Zero Halliburton luggage lands in Manila

Zero Halliburton, the only luggage to have travelled to the moon and back, has landed in S Maison at Conrad Manila.

Marking its launch in the Philippines, the 80-year-old global luggage brand is exhibiting the aluminum briefcase that stored rock and soil samples from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Apollo 11 lunar mission in 1969. It is also unveiling its aluminum and polycarbonate luggage and, soon, the Greenwich Collection, lightweight cordura nylon luggage with built-in smart features.

Surprisingly, the luggage was originally developed to suit the needs of just one man, founder Erle Halliburton, an oilfield engineer, says company chairman Hiroaki Morishita. Realising that he needed a durable piece of luggage for his travels across the rough Texas terrain, Halliburton and a team of engineers designed the world’s first aluminum travel case.

Impressed with the prototype, his friends convinced Halliburton to make the case commercially available. Zero Halliburton became part of history when Apollo 11 astronauts Edwin Eugene “Buzz” Aldrin, Michael Collins and Neil Armstrong took a case to the moon and back.

The line has since extended to wheeled business bags, pilot cases, backpacks and duffel bags using newly developed materials and designs.

Zero Halliburton’s flagship store is in New York City’s Madison Avenue, and Brazilian football superstar Ronaldinho of FC Barcelona has signed up to endorse the brand.