all hail the maglite

pretty interesting, just stumbled on this somehow
says they make 100,000 maglites a day!
wow, whos buying all of these, lol !
i actually thought they had been around longer than 1979
bet that old man that started this aint hurting for grocery money these days:shakehead

Thanks for the video. I never would have guessed they make 100,000 a day!!

I coat equipment used in making big lighters. We all had a bet at work as to how many could they possibly make as they ordered a lot of parts so we contacted the head guy. His answer 5 MILLION per day!!! Every day!! My thoughts exactly where the hell do they all go???

The video states that they make up to 100,000 a day. Later, the claim is made that a flashlight is completed every two seconds. That would be 30 a minute, 1800 an hour, 14,400 per uninterrupted 8 hour shift.

KITROBASKIN said:

The video states that they make up to 100,000 a day. Later, the claim is made that a flashlight is completed every two seconds. That would be 30 a minute, 1800 an hour, 14,400 per uninterrupted 8 hour shift.

Click to expand...

probably just that plant that makes 2 per second dunno
might be more plants
15,000 a day is still crazy !

Where do the 100.000 flashlights a day end up?? I've bought 6 maglites total in past 20 years... they all still work! No need to replace them with new maglites. Can't say the same for other brands I own(ed).

Well I imagine plenty get lost to alkaline or zinc batteries.

Still more get shipped to stores where pallets will sit in the back being taken as needed to fill the shelves where still more sit.

Then all the ones that are/were ordered for police, fire, warehouses, jobsites etc.

Along with sales to the general public is probably a lot.

But I bet we'll still see Incan mags for years even though they've stopped manufacture.

that was an awesome video to watch. thank you for sharing ! i still
have a few incans minis plus their led counterparts. good light i use whenever i wanna use the light i first used extensively for work! really love it

Interesting.

The video being made when they still produced incan mini mags they may not make so many these days as when that video was made, what with all of the competition and all.
Yet at one point when perhaps they had for example, Wal Mart place an order for say a million (which would not be far fetched at one point) then perhaps they throttled up the machinery to achieve a higher output.

Over a period of decades I've owned or gifted dozens of Maglites and not a single one failed when opened up, nor except through abuse or battery issues none have failed over the years.

Like the Mag or not, they've hit on a combination of price, value and reliability unequaled by most other flashlight makers.... ever before.

bykfixer said:

Interesting.

The video being made when they still produced incan mini mags they may not make so many these days as when that video was made, what with all of the competition and all.
Yet at one point when perhaps they had for example, Wal Mart place an order for say a million (which would not be far fetched at one point) then perhaps they throttled up the machinery to achieve a higher output.

Over a period of decades I've owned or gifted dozens of Maglites and not a single one failed when opened up, nor except through abuse or battery issues none have failed over the years.

Like the Mag or not, they've hit on a combination of price, value and reliability unequaled by most other flashlight makers.... ever before.

Click to expand...

agreed. i think its the flashaholic hipster that will think mag is too mainstream for thier liking.

Don't forget how many people there are in the world. These are sold at every well known store and are bought all the time.

.
As populated as the world is, 100k per day probably really isn't all that much

Maglite must have did something right. They haven't really changed the design, they have led, and they sell well. Most consumers don't know about the lights we choose and everyone knows maglite, so its no surprise really

Thanks for sharing OP

INFRNL said:

Don't forget how many people there are in the world. These are sold at every well known store and are bought all the time.

.
As populated as the world is, 100k per day probably really isn't all that much

Maglite must have did something right. They haven't really changed the design, they have led, and they sell well. Most consumers don't know about the lights we choose and everyone knows maglite, so its no surprise really

Thanks for sharing OP

Click to expand...

Agree absolutely. A good % of my family knows nothing of lights, and either use mags or drill pack flashlights that are similar brightness but rechargeable. My lights blow my grandparents' minds when I show up with a modded light or a modern led (especially the ml50l!)

Thanks for this. Great watch.

For those doing the math. 2 per second coming off the line, I believe that is just the Mini Mag.
So, IF they do (or used to do) 2 per second of every light they make (or made), that is a bunch! lol I don't even know how many they make now but it has to be over 10 different kind of lights.
Maybe one of you math guys or gals can figure the math out?

Either way, cool video. It made me think and kinda realize why they were so slow to change over to LED tech. Can you imagine how much work, money and Time it would take to change that factory around to install LED components vs the Bulbs.

Not to mention, I can hear the Boss Man, "Why do we need to change our product to LED when we are selling 100K a day of these lights? No one will ever need or want a LED light" <<<--- We all have had that Boss at some point. lol

It's quite funny to hear them say that the intent of the knurling is not for grip.

defloyd77 said:

It's quite funny to hear them say that the intent of the knurling is not for grip.

Click to expand...

+1. A bit odd.

Maybe the statement that the knurling is just a design came from Maglite lawyers who do not want to imply that the knurling is an effective feature for a secure grip, lessening claims from malicious users bent on trying to get something for nothing by saying the knurling is not effective for a secure grip.

Str8stroke clarified the production numbers question, seems like. It is said, the old man is active with design, etc.. wearing the same type of apparel as in the video.

KITROBASKIN said:

Maybe the statement that the knurling is just a design came from Maglite lawyers who do not want to imply that the knurling is an effective feature for a secure grip, lessening claims from malicious users bent on trying to get something for nothing by saying the knurling is not effective for a secure grip.

Str8stroke clarified the production numbers question, seems like. It is said, the old man is active with design, etc.. wearing the same type of apparel as in the video.

Click to expand...

Or maybe they tried to patent/trademark the knurling, like the lettering on the head of the lights, kind of like how Spyderco couldn't patent the Spyderhole, so they instead trademarked it.

I originally was going to say this as a joke, but the more I think of it.......

100,000 per day = 1 per person in the world every 192 years, or one per person in the US every 8 or 9 years. The real market size is no doubt in between those two figures. Also, I'm guessing 100,000 per day is the peak rate they ever produced them at, but it's probably lower these days due to the numerous competitors.

I've got three of them personally (one each Solitaire, 2xAA mini, and 2xD), although all were acquired before LED lights became common.

To most people, Maglite's reputation from the incandescent era still carries a lot of weight. There's also a lot of people who like the Made in USA angle, too. Honestly, the price is excellent for a made in USA product:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130197557

Quote from the company founder:

NPR said:

"I will not go out of the country if my life depends on it," Maglica says. "There's no reason for it really."

Maglica is 79 years old and still comes to work every day, often before dawn. He walks the 700,000-square-foot factory floor, checking in on every detail of production.

Click to expand...

Love Maglite or hate them, Maglica is a perfect example of the american dream. He came up with an idea, built a company around it supplying nations, defended its patents (according to the laws of the land) and is still adapting to changing times at a pace that is still profitable today. In my early adulthood, the Maglite 2D started it all for me and it still never fails to function.