Pelican Products was founded in Torrance, California, in 1976 by David and Arline Parker as a mail-orderhome business. It was David Parker's desire to "develop unique and practical products for the dive market."
Company History
1976
*The Pelican Dive Float is introduced
1978
*The Pelican Protector case is introduced
1981 - 1984
*The Pelican SabreLite introduced to the dive market
*Pelican products receive their first safety approvals
1989 - 1995
*Molding operations brought in-house
*Company moves to their Early Avenue, Torrance headquarters
1996 - 1999
*Peli Products, S.A., their headquarters in Europe opens in Barcelona, Spain
* 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
*Pelican wins the National Institute of Packaging Handling and Logistics Engineers 2011 Corporation of the Year award
*Pelican receives the Presidential "E" award for exports
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 - 20015
* 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 as Pelican BioThermal
2016 - 2017
* Pelican celebrates its 40th anniversary
*Pelican introduces their Pelican Air Case line
*Pelican introduces Pelican Traveler tumblers
* Peli BioThermal wins the Queen's Award for Innovation
*Pelican introduces the "Vault by Pelican" line as a brand extension to its case line
*Pelican launches its first e-commerce site at www.pelican.com/shop
2020
*Pelican acquires NanoCool, a temperature-controlled packaging manufacturer.
Cases
Pelican cases are molded plastic containers that seal with an airtight and watertight gasket. Pelican cases include a barometric relief valve made of Gore-Tex to prevent pressure damage to the case during transportation or when the air pressure in the environment changes. Pelican cases meet standards for waterproofing, stacking, impact, and durability including MIL-STD C4150-J for waterproofing, IECIP67 rating indicating complete sealing against dust and water immersion to 1 metre, as well as ATA 300 rating indicating compliance with Air Transport Association standards for durability in shipping. Pelican cases feature a lifetime guarantee. In Europe, they are sold as Peli cases. If the case falls into water, generally there will be enough air in the case to keep it afloat. The barometric relief valve permits air to pass through, but not water or other liquids. Under some extreme conditions leakage is technically possible, but such conditions are unlikely to be encountered, except in the case of deliberate vandalism. Pelican Products also manufactures customized rotationally molded cases built for specialized sensitive equipment protection. The cases can be modified with features including internal shock-mount systems, manual pressure relief valves, humidity indicators, custom foam, and fabricated metal framing for electronics. Pelican Products also runs a series of Advanced Case Centers in California, Virginia, Massachusetts, Canada, France, United Kingdom, and Australia that handle customization and design work for their cases. The official distributor in Russia is Protect Studio.
Temperature Controlled Packaging
Pelican's BioThermal division offers passive temperature-controlled products and service solutions including single-use and reusable parcels, single use and reusable pallets and rental programs for the pharmaceutical industry.
Flashlights
Pelican flashlights use Xenon, Halogen, and LED lamps. Many are safety approved with features such as valves, anti-shock systems, and battery polarity guards. The safety approvals include ETL, UL, FM, CE-EX, CSA, MSHA and the AUS. The company also manufactures a line of LED tactical flashlights geared toward the law enforcement community.
Travel goods and drinkware
Pelican manufactures a line of backpacks, duffel bags, travel-themed cases, double-walled tumblers and bottles aimed toward travelers.
Remote area lighting
Pelican's Advanced Area Lighting Group designs and manufactures a variety of battery powered, remote area lighting solutions. These range from single head, hand held units to deployable units with up to four separate LED heads, as well as tent lighting. Rapid setup and long run times for emergency responders, military, maintenance workers, and others.
