Pelican Products. Pelican Products is an American multinational company that designs and manufactures portable lighting systems, temperature controlled packaging and protective cases. Their products are used in many industries including military, law enforcement, fire safety, and consumer entertainment. The company's flagship product, Pelican cases, are molded plastic cases that seal with an airtight and watertight gasket. Pelican is based in Torrance, California. In Europe the products are branded Peli.

History

The company was founded in Torrance, California in 1976 by David and Arline Parker as a mail-order home business. It was David Parker's desire to "develop unique and practical products for the dive market."

Pelican introduced its Protector case in 1978. In the early 1980s, the SabreLite was launched for the dive market, and Pelican's products received their first safety approvals. In the early 1990s, molding operations were brought in-house, and the company's headquarters moved to Torrance, California. A subsidiary opened in Spain to serve the European market. In the early 2000s, Pelican opened a subsidiary in Canada and received safety approvals in Europe for their Peli flashlights.

In October 2004, the private equity investment firm Behrman Capital acquired Pelican Products for approx. $200 million. Lyndon J. Faulkner was named CEO of Pelican in 2006. In 2007, the Pelican 7060 flashlight is introduced after being developed with the Los Angeles Police Department.

 2006–2007
 Pelican Japan and China open
 Company surpasses 100 million in sales
 Canadian Armed Forces contracts Pelican to build the special MOB "Mobile Operations Box" case
 Their largest injection molding machine (code named "Colossus") is installed at the Torrance, CA plant
 The Pelican i1010/i1030 Micro Case series is launched
 Pelican's first robot (code named "T-Rex") is installed in their Torrance, CA plant
 2008
 Pelican Products purchased their largest Australian distributor and opened Pelican Australia 
 Pelican Products makes Inc. magazine's 5000 list for the second year
 The company purchased portable LED area lighting manufacturer Bluei UK
 General Peter Pace becomes Pelican's chairman of the board
 The 9430 Remote Area Lighting System debuts
 2009
 Pelican Products announced the acquisition of long-time competitor, Hardigg Industries of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, the world's largest manufacturer of rotationally molded protective cases
 Pelican lands an $80 million contract to create the General Mechanics Tool Kit for the U.S. Military
 The Pelican 1090 HardBack case is introduced
 2010
 Pelican's chairman of the board, Peter Pace, initiates the Pelican For Patriots program, which provides cases for wounded military veterans to protect their prosthetic
 Pelican sends coolers, flashlights and cases to aid in the Haiti disaster rescue and recovery
 Pelican introduces Advanced Case Solutions line for custom case applications
 Pelican is certified as a Sony Green Partner
 Pelican introduces the 1460 EMS case for the emergency and fire safety markets
 2011
 Pelican purchased Australian roto-mold case manufacturer Trimcast
 Pelican India and South Korea open
 2013
 The company introduces their consumer division, offering backpacks, lighting tools, coolers and more
 The company acquired temperature-controlled container manufacturer Minnesota Thermal Science
 2014–2015
 Pelican introduces the Pelican 7000 flashlight, their first to shine up to 600 lumens
 Pelican introduces Pelican Elite luggage
 Pelican acquires Cool Logistics and re-brands the combined division (Minnesota Thermal Science + Cool Logistics) as Pelican BioThermal
 2016–2017
 Pelican celebrates its 40th anniversary
 Pelican introduces their Pelican Air Case line
 Pelican introduces Pelican Traveler tumblers

In 2020, Pelican acquired the temperature-controlled packaging manufacturer NanoCool. Phil Gyori was named president and chief executive officer, and Lyndon Faulkner executive chairman. In 2021, Platinum Equity completed the acquisition of Pelican.

Awards 

 2011: Corporation of the Year award by the National Institute of Packaging Handling and Logistics Engineers (NIPHLE)
 2011:  for exports
 2016-2017 :   for Peli BioThermal
 2018-2019:  for Peli BioThermal

References

Cooler manufacturers
Luggage manufacturers
Manufacturing companies established in 1976
Manufacturing companies based in Greater Los Angeles
1976 establishments in California
Privately held companies based in California
Private equity portfolio companies
Companies based in Torrance, California
Flashlights
2021 mergers and acquisitions