Our Story

It all began in 1976 with a hundred feet of twine around a hockey stick handle and a metal weight to serve as a mini anchor. Fashioned by scuba enthusiast Dave Parker in his garage in Torrance, CA, this innovative safety tool was designed to bob on the water’s surface to mark locations for divers. Dave dubbed his brainchild the “Pelican Float.” He devised this gadget because he knew it had the potential to save lives. He was right.

Eager to expand upon his vision, Dave was soon hard at work designing his next product: a superior first-aid kit for divers. The cases were rugged, durable, and built to keep the contents stored inside safely protected from water and dust. The product was a hit with divers and others who tossed out the first-aid supplies and used the case to protect other valuables.

From this humble beginning sprang a company that ultimately became the global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance protective cases, temperature controlled packaging and advanced portable lighting systems. All along the way, Pelican has stayed true to Dave’s commitment to quality and his vision: Protecting All That You Value. We take great pride in the products we’ve created over the years for police, firefighters, military personnel, photographers and others who have counted on Pelican products to protect their gear and their lives.

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pelican medical biothermal temperature packaging

Photo by Eli Lilly and Company

Over the years, stories of survival and heroic efforts have rolled in. Getting roughed up, scuffed up, run over, kicked, thrown, submersed, and dropped is all in a day’s work for a Pelican product. We have expanded into many new areas over the years, but we evaluate our success only one way: it either does its job, or it doesn’t bear the Pelican name.

pelican products case manufacturing plant

Still located in Torrance with 200,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space, Pelican has grown into a global enterprise with six manufacturing facilities, 23 international sales offices, and multiple advanced case centers, network stations, and service centers around the world. Global expansion along with smart acquisitions and new product introductions have all added to the success Pelican realizes today.

We wholeheartedly embrace the calling and the duty that we’ve lived up to for more than 40 years. It’s true that we build the best in the world. But it’s our customers who have built the Pelican name. We know the most valuable thing you’ll ever put in a Pelican product is trust. If it’s made by Pelican, it’s built to protect.

pelican explosion survival story military case

THE PELICAN STORY

Pelican Products, Inc. continues to reign as the global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance protective cases, temperature-controlled packaging solutions, advanced portable lighting systems and rugged gear for professionals and outdoor enthusiasts alike.

Our products are depended on by professionals in the most demanding markets including fire/safety, law enforcement, life sciences, defense/military, aerospace, entertainment, industrial and outdoor industries. Pelican products are designed and built to last a lifetime.

The company’s 200,000 square feet corporate headquarters located in Torrance, California serves as the home office for nearly 1,300 employees. Pelican has expanded across the globe and now operates in 26 countries, 24 international sales offices and seven manufacturing facilities. In Europe, Pelican operates under the name Peli Products.

Pelican’s seven manufacturing locations are in North America, Europe and Australasia: Torrance, California (Corporate) - South Deerfield, Massachusetts – Plymouth, Minnesota – Albuquerque, New Mexico - Crottendorf, Germany - Leighton Buzzard, UK – Melbourne, Australia.

Pelican was founded in 1976 by Dave Parker and his wife Arline in their Torrance, California garage. An avid Scuba diver since age 11, Dave recognized the need for rugged flashlights and cases that wouldn’t leak or fail and set out to build a better product than any other on the market. After years of hard work and sacrifice, Pelican Products became a reality with its first product patent, the Pelican Float™. The legendary SabreLite™ flashlight and Protector Cases soon followed.

Pelican’s product line and company grew steadily over the years and, in 2004, the company was acquired by private equity firm Behrman Capital. Shortly thereafter, the company experienced an incredible growth trend under a new CEO, Lyndon Faulkner, who was appointed in 2006.

After a few years of ramping up the organization, 2008 was a banner year that saw Pelican Products execute an aggressive growth strategy highlighted by international expansion and acquisitions. This resulted in new sales offices and manufacturing facilities around the globe, as well as the creation of Pelican Australia and the launch of the Advanced Area Lighting Group.

Pelican made its largest acquisition ever with the purchase of its nearest case competitor, Hardigg Industries, at the end of 2008. This nearly doubled the size of Pelican’s operation overnight, making it the largest manufacturer of equipment protection cases in the world.

In late 2012 as part of its strategic growth plan, Pelican introduced a wide range of consumer products imbued with the same tough-as-nails DNA as our commercial products. Featured products include coolers, drinkware, luggage and advanced LED lighting tools.

In another move to diversify its products and services, Pelican introduced a line of temperature-controlled transport cases. To further expand in this arena we acquired the industry’s leading manufacturers of temperature-controlled shipping containers, Minnesota Thermal Science (United States in 2013) and Cool Logistics (United Kingdom in 2014) and integrated them to create Pelican BioThermal™, the largest temperature controlled case manufacturer in the world. The division was twice honored with the United Kingdom’s most prestigious accolades, the Queen’s Award for Innovation and the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.

In 2016, Pelican celebrated its 40th anniversary. The year brought continued organizational growth and the reengineered Pelican Air Cases which are 40% lighter than standard Pelican Protector Cases yet retain their legendary toughness.

More recent years brought the introduction of Pelican’s online store and the launch of new and innovative products, including the rugged and affordable Vault by Pelican line of cases, versatile Personal Utility Cases for everyday use and the 1465 EMS Case, an extremely lightweight case for first responders.

And, early 2020 brought the acquisition of NanoCool, the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based manufacturer of temperature-controlled packaging solutions. This acquisition further increases the breadth of the Pelican BioThermal product portfolio, already the most comprehensive in the industry.

In August of 2020, Phil Gyori was appointed the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Gyori served as Group President of Pelican since joining in 2016. He succeeds Lyndon Faulkner, who becomes Executive Chairman.

Gyori has over 30 years of executive and management experience and a proven track record of driving rapid business growth. He has a rich background in marketing, business development and brand management, and his expertise also extends to other cross-functional areas including sales, engineering, purchasing and overseas sourcing. As Group President of Pelican since 2016, he has had responsibility for all three of the company’s divisions: Commercial / Government, International and Pelican BioThermal.

Prior to Pelican he spent 16 years as an executive at Bushnell, a global leader in Sports Optics & Outdoor Recreation, where he was the general manager for the $400 million North American Division and where he helped grow the overall business from $100 million to $600 million. Before joining Bushnell, he served in leadership roles at Nike, Procter & Gamble, and The Quaker Oats Company.

Gyori is well positioned to lead Pelican through another era of great success.

PELI, OUR EXTENDED FAMILY

Peli Products, S.L.U. was opened in January 1997 as the European headquarters for Pelican Products, Inc.

Peli was developed to help improve Pelican's business on the European continent. We wanted to provide our existing customers with immediate access to inventory and customer service and to improve our business in new areas. It was our hope that by having a location in Barcelona, we could better understand the unique needs of our customers and the European marketplace. Since opening, the Barcelona facility has been a great success and it services customers in each of the twenty-five European Union countries as well as more than twenty-five countries in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Barcelona, Spain was chosen as our headquarters for many different reasons. It has a high-quality "Port" and it is very accessible by various shipping lines. It also has a reputation for having hard working and industrious citizens, and a growing image as one of Europe's most important cities. People from both the private and public sector were very helpful in all aspects of the planning and development of our operation. This gave us the feeling that our business was really wanted here. Lastly, we felt that Barcelona offered a quality of life that would prove to be beneficial to our employees for many years.

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