This year marks the 65th year of business for Peterson Manufacturing Company. Known as the “Quiet Giant” in the Kansas City suburb of Grandview MO, Peterson has evolved from a tiny, retail-oriented manufacturer to a quarter-billion-dollar, multi-faceted corporation whose safety lighting products and other services reach millions of customers worldwide. The family-owned company headquarters on a 44-acre corporate campus in a 670,000-square-foot facility housing all departments of Peterson's vertically integrated operations.
Tobe Tennyson, longtime Peterson associate and archivist, recently compiled a timeline marking milestones in the history of the company, including:
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1945 — Company is founded in downtown Kansas City by Wilbur “Pete” Peterson; manufactures taillights for the automotive aftermarket.
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1956 — Kansas City businessman Don Armacost Sr buys the company from Peterson.
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1960 — Peterson moves to a 35,000-sq-ft Kansas City facility.
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1968 — FMVSS 108 sets new industry standards for safety lighting; Peterson commits to exceeding those standards by 25% or more.
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1970 — Relocation to Peterson's current site in Grandview.
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1974 — Peterson embarks on the first of several facility expansions and launches the 440 S/T/T light.
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1978 — Peterson launches the Model 426 Series, its first sealed lights.
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1980 — Another major plant expansion.
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1986 — NHTSA orders all new cars to sport a third, center-mounted brake light, driving sales of V300 retrofit lights.
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1991 — More plant expansion as Peterson subsidiary Mission Plastics North moves operations to Grandview.
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1996 — Vector Tool & Engineering joins the corporation.
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1999 — The 10-diode LED S/T/T is produced.
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2003 — Peterson offers multi-function Strobe & Turn LED.
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2005 — Custom wiring harness subsidiary Maxi-Seal moves to Grandview.
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2006 — Another major plant expansion.
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2010 — Peterson is now one of America's top three safety lighting manufacturers, offering more than 2,200 lighting-related products.