In my experience, the name Pelican has become synonymous with an indestructible case that will protect the contents.
The facility is over 200,000 square feet, with 125,000 of those square feet dedicated to manufacturing.
Pelican employs over 1,000 people in the United States, and even more worldwide.
This is the entrance to the Pelican offices and factory in Torrance, California. Image: Courtesy of Pelican Products
The Torrance plant is non-union and has high employee morale from what I saw while there.
Many employees have decades of tenure and commensurate collective knowledge.
Thomas told me that he has worked for Pelican for more than 28 years.
In the Pelican Products showroom, the author saw many of the impressive products the company manufactures.
Each month, an employee is selected as Employee of the Month based on outstanding job performance.
The chosen employees name and photo are posted on the wall.
This is a source of pride and motivates all employees to do their very best work.
In this photo, an employee loads foam into a machine for custom cutting for a case. Image: Pelican Products
There were lots of smiling faces on that wall.
The high morale and work ethic was obvious as I watched workers assemble various Pelican cases.
The company places a high value on producing a quality product.
Shown here is the original Pelican Float invented by company founder David H. Parker in 1978.
The history resembles many other successful American manufacturers.
The company also has factories in Germany, Australia, China and the United Kingdom.
He invented and made such a rig and that first Pelican product helped to save lives.
The Pelican Vault case assembly process includes multiple actions and quality checks in the factory. Image: Pelican Products
Next came a first aid kit also for divers.
The company grew from there and started making waterproof cases.
Once Pelican perfected the waterproof case, it was easy to add different shapes and sizes.
Here, a Pelican cooler is assembled in the company’s Deerfield, Massachusetts facility. Image: Pelican Products
Thomas told me that Pelican works hard to stay consistent with the founding principles of the company.
The machines mold both the top and bottom of the case at the same time.
The small parts are installed by hand.
Air Cases are some of Pelican’s most popular products. Here one of the Air Cases is shown being assembled. Image: Pelican Products
The case is then stacked for boxing.
Several different molds are moved in and out of these large machines depending on what product is being made.
What I found unique is that the machines have names.
This certainly does make the factory floor interesting.
The average life span of an injection molding machine is 15 to 20 years.
Where It Counts
There are rare instances when a case does not meet Pelicans strict quality specifications.
Either the color or dimensions are just not right or a worker found something else to be wrong.
Those cases are never sold.
The case is added to a stack of cases to be reground.
In other words, the case is pulverized so that the plastic resin can be reused.
There is little waste in the plant.
Outside, there are four silos to hold virgin, reground, foam and color resin.
These silos feed the machines in the plant through pipes and tubes.
Pelican has several milling machines and other equipment and tools that are used to fabricate parts as needed.
The company is able to make special production runs of custom colors.
With effort, patience and skill these types of foam can be configured to safely hold equipment in place.
But a perfect solution is difficult to obtain.
Pelican recognized this and now offers a service to pre-cut foam for most cases aptly named,Pelican Foam.
This service is available for most Pelican Protector, Storm, Air and Vault cases.
Customers can also purchase just cut foam for a Pelican case.
Conclusion
Pelicans history is one of phenomenal growth through innovation.
Pelicans story truly shows how great American manufacturing can be.
I left the factory more certain than ever of that fact.
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