“Made in America” is about guys like Tony Maglica, who started the company in his garage and grew it to a multi-million dollar business, providing thousands of tax-paying Californians well-paying manufacturing jobs
‘Made In The USA’ Still Matters to Maglite Founder
Maglite flashlight inventor Anthony Maglica founded his machine shop in 1955 as a one-man operation. Never did he dream of the success he would have, or the 200+ patents he would eventually hold for his inventions. Maglica also would never imagine that the State of California would be adversarial to his business.
‘Made in America’ still stands for American quality with many consumers, but California’s politicians are another story.
I first met Maglite flashlight founder Anthony Maglica in 2012, and followed his attempts to reason with California politicians over an obscure law. Maglica has manufactured the heavy-duty flashlights in California since 1979. He founded his company in Ontario, CA in 1955, first as a machine shop, manufacturing important components for all kinds of products, and the first American satellite.