W.M.McMaster Ltd.

The house for quality tools

Established 1896

The Maglite Story

Born in New York City during the Great Depression, Tony 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, with the country in the ruins of World War II and Communists in control, Tony escaped back to America. Here he set out to make the most of his training as an experimental machinist, though he spoke no English. He taught himself a few words a day while taking employment where he could find it, and worked for himself in what were supposed to be his off hours. Still it was a struggle to save any money. Finally he managed to save $125, the down-payment on his first lathe. So began Tony Maglica's quest for the American Dream: There in his one-man machine shop in a Los Angeles area garage, he knew that his days of working for other people were behind him. He was, at last, in business for himself.

Mr. Maglica began by manufacturing precision parts for industry, aerospace, and the military. He quickly earned a reputation for quality, efficiency and ingenuity. Mag Instrument was eventually incorporated in 1974. By that time, Mr. 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. Mr. 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, Mr. Maglica set his sights on designing and manufacturing a new and improved flashlight. Initially targeted for the public safety sector, the Maglite® 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, Mr. Maglica followed up the success of the Maglite® flashlight with the Maglite® Rechargeable Flashlight 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 "A Work of Art That Works®", the Maglite® and Mini Maglite® flashlights have been honored by the Japan Institute of Design and by the Museum for Applied Art in Germany. Fortune and Money magazines ranked Mag Instrument® products among the top 100 products that "America makes best". In 1996, the Wall Street Journal referred to the Maglite® flashlight as "the Cadillac of flashlights", and quoted then-CEO of Apple Computer Gilbert F. Amelio as saying he wanted Apple to be "essentially the Maglite® of computers".

EXPANSION AND INNOVATION
Headquartered in Ontario, California, since 1982, Mag Instrument now has about 850 employees and occupies some 450,000 square feet of space, including its factory, offices and main distribution center. A new fully integrated manufacturing facility, now under construction in Ontario, is expected to be completed late in 2004. This expansion will help Mag Instrument® meet the increasing worldwide demand for its products. The long-term goal is for export sales to account for no less than 50 percent of Mag Instrument's total output.

New products are constantly under development at Mag Instrument, but they are introduced only when Mr. 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 Mr. Maglica's childhood home to the birthplace of his success, this patriot and businessman continues to champion and exemplify the blessings of free enterprise.