Fountain Valley-based SureFire LLC built itself on giving the U.S. military and law enforcement a competitive advantage.
Now a $50 million private equity investment could do the same thing for the maker of top-of-the-line flashlights and accessories for troops and outdoorsmen.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Broadsword Partners LLC and Brooklyn NY Holdings LLC invested early this month in the private company, which drew some attention this year after a series of contracts with the Army.
“SureFire gets additional resources to help us facilitate our expansion,” said John Matthews, SureFire’s founder and chief executive, in a statement. “The investors get an opportunity to benefit from our unprecedented growth.”
The company is considering expanding into new markets. Most likely it’ll use the money to come up with products, which can take up to three years to research and develop, according to SureFire executives.
The focus is on creating a flashlight that more efficiently uses batteries, they said.
SureFire doesn’t disclose yearly sales except to say they’re $50 million to $150 million a year, according to Joel Smith, vice president of administration.
About half of that revenue comes from contracts with the military and federal law enforcement, which almost exclusively use SureFire flashlights mounted on weapons.
The other half is sold through stores with customers who run the gamut from police to outdoorsmen.
Worldwide sales of flashlights and related products are about $2 billion annually, according to Derek McDonald, vice president of marketing for SureFire.
Makers are comprised mainly of private companies. One competitor is Ontario-based Mag Instrument Inc., whose owner, president and founder, Anthony Maglica, lives in Anaheim Hills.
SureFire’s flashlights are high-end. Handheld models run from $36 for a simple design to $4,100 for ones for the commercial market.
“We’re more concerned with making the best, and don’t care as much about the cost,” Smith said.
The brightness of SureFire’s best flashlights illuminate 800 yards away, according to the company. They can disable attackers by temporarily blinding them, it says.
The lights are fixed to machine guns and pistols used by combat troops as well as special forces such as the Navy Seals. They’re standard-issue for FBI agents.
The company also makes knives and accessories such as silencers and earpieces.
All of SureFire’s products are designed, made and assembled in five Orange County locations that total about 250,000 square feet. The company employs about 500 people in the county.
When Matthews started the company it was called Laser Products LLC, an offshoot of another company he cofounded, Newport Corp. in Irvine.
Newport, which got its start as Newport Research Corp., makes lasers and related gear for chipmakers, aerospace and telecommunications companies.
Matthews eventually sold Newport, which has yearly sales of about $450 million.
Laser Products specialized in laser sights that, when attached to guns, gave shooters better targeting.
The name was changed to SureFire in 2002 when the company shifted its focus to its budding flashlight brand that has since become the company’s core business.
Matthews, 68, holds a doctorate degree from the California Institute of Technology and still helps run SureFire.
