Every
flashlight made by Mag Instrument, Inc.,
represents an abiding commitment to
perfection and underscores the indomitable
spirit and prowess of American
manufacturing.
A champion of free enterprise and
“Made in the U.S.A.” manufacturing,
Anthony Maglica founded Mag Instrument in
Los Angeles in 1955 and designed the
Mag-Lite® flashlight, now an American
product icon.
Through sheer determination, hard work,
and know-how, Anthony Maglica achieved the
American Dream when he founded Mag
Instrument in 1955. When he went on to
design and manufacture a product that
revolutionized an industry, he achieved
that dream all over again. In his ongoing
pursuit of innovative technology, quality
products, design and the customer service
to back them up, Maglica believes he has
found the key to creating worldwide demand
not only for his company's products, but
for all goods made in America.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Born in New York City during the Great
Depression, Maglica was raised in his
mother's native Croatia. He was a small
child when his mother decided to return to
Croatia so that he could be raised close
to her family. In 1950, he returned to the
United States. With complete faith in the
American free enterprise system, Maglica
set out to make the most of his training
as an experimental machinist, in spite of
the fact that he spoke no English. Five
years later he had managed to save $125 in
order to buy a lathe and start his own
machine tool business in a Los Angeles
area garage.
Maglica manufactured precision parts
for industry, aerospace, and the military,
and quickly earned a reputation for
quality, efficiency and ingenuity. Mag
Instrument was eventually incorporated in
1974. By that time, Maglica had clearly
demonstrated his innovative techniques for
cutting production costs and increasing
quality. Continuous improvement is a
talent that continues to keep his company
ahead of the competition. Maglica
established a hands-on leadership style,
as well as a core business philosophy of
combining superior quality of all Mag
products with unsurpassed customer
service.
LIGHTING THE PATH TO SUCCESS
As his company grew, Maglica set his
sights on designing and manufacturing a
new and improved flashlight. Initially
targeted for the public safety sector, the
Mag-Lite flashlight was introduced in
1979. Police officers, firefighters and
mechanics quickly spread the word about
this rugged, reliable anodized aluminum
flashlight, which would change the
portable lighting industry forever.
Committed to product innovation and
refinement, Maglica followed up the
success of the Mag-Lite flashlight with
the Mag Charger Rechargeable System, one
of the most powerful rechargeable
flashlights of its size. The Mini Maglite
AA flashlight was launched in 1984 and set
a new standard for personal size
flashlights. A smaller AAA-Cell version of
the Mini Maglite flashlight, ideal for
many industrial and medical applications,
was introduced in 1987; and the Solitaire
single AAA-Cell flashlight, designed for
key chains and purses, was introduced in
1988.
Often referred to as the "work of
art that works", the Mag-Lite and
Mini Maglite have been honored by the
Japan Institute of Design and the Museum
for Applied Art in Germany. Fortune and
Money magazines ranked Mag-Lite products
among the top 100 products that
"America makes best". In 1996,
the Wall Street Journal referred to
Mag-Lite as "the Cadillac of
flashlights", and quoted then-CEO of
Apple Computer Gilbert F. Amelio as saying
he wanted Apple to be "essentially
the Mag-Lite of computers".
EXPANSION AND INNOVATION
Headquartered in Ontario, California since
1982, Mag Instrument has 850 employees and
occupies 450,000 square feet of space,
including factory, offices and a
distribution center. A new fully
integrated manufacturing facility, now
under construction in Ontario, is expected
to create 2,400 additional jobs. This
expansion will help Mag Instrument meet
the increasing worldwide demand for its
products. The long-term goal is for
exports to account for no less than 50
percent of sales.
Mag Instrument is proud to be a leader
in the current renaissance in American
manufacturing. Maglica himself, a fervent
believer in the importance of
manufacturing in the United States,
insists that all Mag Instrument products
be produced domestically and bear the
"Made in America" label. He has
dedicated himself to proving that
American-made products can excel in the
global marketplace by using technology to
continually improve quality and reduce
costs. Over the last two decades,
Maglica's innovations have allowed Mag
Instrument to offer consumers consistently
better value than the competition.
Maglica, who is personally involved in
all product research and development,
holds hundreds of patents and trademarks
for features that are employed in company
products. Over the past 14 years, Mag
Instrument has vigorously enforced its
intellectual property rights in courts
here and abroad. Maglica believes that all
American manufacturers benefit from the
aggressive defense of patent and trademark
rights against any and all infringers.
Several new products are under
development, to be introduced only when
Maglica is personally satisfied that their
design and execution are up to Mag
Instrument standards. In the meantime, he
has plenty of other interests to occupy
his time, including building an
environmental reclamation plant in Zlarin,
Croatia, where he grew up. From Maglica's
childhood home to the birthplace of his
success, this patriot and businessman
continues to champion and exemplify the
blessings of free enterprise.
