FLIR Systems - History

History

FLIR took its name from the acronym for forward-looking infrared imaging systems. The company began in 1978 with airborne IR systems, and developed from 1978 to 2004 through product development and acquisitions of related companies. Originally based in Tigard, Oregon, the company relocated to Portland in the mid-1990s. FLIR teamed up with Hughes Aircraft Company in 1990, with Hughes taking part ownership of FLIR.

The company became publicly traded in a June 1993 IPO. The IPO raised $11.5 million for the company with shares offered at $12.50. In 1994, the company had grown to sales of $47 million annually. The next year J. Kenneth Stringer III was named as president of the company. The company bought Sweden's Agema Infrared System in 1997, which doubled the size of the company. Acquisitions continued the following year when they purchased Inframetrics Inc. of Massachusetts for $48 million.

President and chief executive officer Kenneth Stringer III was fired by the board of directors in May 2000 due to errors in the company's accounting practices. In September 2002, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued FLIR over accounting irregularities. The next year three executives at the company were charged with fraudulent accounting in related to the SEC case that included claims of inflated sales. Sales at FLIR grew to $311 million in fiscal year 2003. In 2004, the company bought a building in Wilsonville from Mentor Graphics for $10.3 million to serve as a new headquarters.

Beginning in 2005 the company began supplying BMW with imaging technology for use on the luxury automaker's vehicles. Also in 2005, FLIR was named the 55th fastest-growing company on CNNMoney's list of the 100 fastest-growing tech companies. In 2006 FLIR was listed as the 83rd best small business by Forbes. The previous year they were ranked 39th. That July they announced a seven-year contract worth up to $250 million with the United States Army for cameras to be installed on helicopters.

In March 2007, the company reported that they would restate its financial statements for the period from 1995 through 2005, primarily to record non-cash charges for compensation expense relating to past stock option grants. FLIR was also sued by investors over these same allegations.

The company purchased Extech Instruments Corp. in October 2007 for $40 million. The next month FLIR executed their first stock split. FLIR made another acquisition in April 2008 when it purchased Ifara Tecnologias of Spain for about $11 million. For the 2008 fiscal year, the company recorded $1.1 billion in sales, a record for the company. On January 1, 2009, FLIR was added to the S&P 500 stock index, replacing National City Corporation. FLIR was named as the Northwest's top company by the Seattle Times in 2009, marking the third time the company was at the top (2002 and 2003). They sold off Extech Data Systems, a division of Extech which made portable printers, in December 2009, and bought security hardware maker Directed Perception that month for $20 million. FLIR continued to grow via acquisitions when they purchased bankrupt Raymarine in May 2010 for $180 million.