Did you ever wonder how they got the name Mag-Lite®? Was it from the word “magnet”,
“magnificent”, “magnesium”, “magnanimous”? No. Nothing as detailed as that. When it
was invented in 1979, it was named after the owner of the company, Anthony Maglica. He and his company have been on Facebook recently. The topic is his commitment on keeping USA’s flashlight manufacturing jobs in the USA. Yes, that keeps the famous flashlight’s price high, but people are willing to pay for quality. Maglites® are as American as apple pie. People are proud to own one of these magnificent “torches”, especially the new LED models, no matter what the price.
POOR FAMILY: Mr. Maglica was born in NYC during the Great Depression, but was raised in Croatia by his mother. When he was old enough to escape from the Communist control of Croatia, he came back to America and started manufacturing precision parts for aerospace and the military. He used a lathe that he bought, and was making payments on. In 1974, he incorporated as Mag Instrument, Inc. in California, and went on to invent the Maglite® flashlight in 1979. Through his hard work and perseverance, he has brought much success to a unique flashlight, his workers, and to his country.
ONWARD AND UPWARD: The Mini Maglite® AA flashlight was introduced in 1984 and became a welcome personal size flashlight. A smaller AAA-Cell version of the Mini Maglite® flashlight, handy for medical applications, was introduced in 1987; and the Solitaire® single AAA-Cell flashlight, designed for key chains and purses, entered the product line in 1988. In 2006, the Maglite® LED flashlight was introduced. In 2011, they started the Mini Maglite Pro & Pro+ sales.
AWARDS: Besides being awarded millions of dollars in patent infringement cases, Mag Instrument, Inc. has been awarded many recognition awards. In 1987, Money Magazine named the Mini Maglite® flashlight one of the 99 Things That Americans Make Best. In 2004, Mens Journal named The Maglite® flashlight in the “List of All Time Best Tools, Toys, and Gear”. In 2005, Mobile PC Magazine named the Maglite® flashlight as one of the 100 greatest gadgets of all time. In 2010, Maglite XL100 made the “Holiday Hot List” (Dec 2010) – Sunset Magazine. In 2011, Mini Mag-Lite LED made the “Best Car-winterizing tools” list (01/11/11) – Woman’s Day Magazine.
LASER SCIENCE: The laser was invented in the early 1950’s. Then computerized laser engraving machines evolved in the 70’s and 80’s. The first items to be decorated with laser engraving were wooden plaques. These refined machines are used today to put your logo on engraved Maglites. Laser has enhanced the popularity of promotional Maglights. Today, it is easy to use your vector art file, and quickly engrave your logo on 50 anodized aluminum Maglites. Your imprint shows as the color of the aluminum showing through the places where the anodized color was removed by the laser. Engraved flashlights with your logo are here to stay, because they combine a useful object with a little bit of well-placed advertising.
THE FUTURE: The next step is already here…The ability to put your full-color logo on the curved metal barrel of the Maglite®. This process was started about 2011. The imprint is virtually un-scratchable. The imprint is permanently adhered to the barrel. The color logo on a Maglite® is available in a very limited market.
