Teledyne FLIR LLC, formerly FLIR Systems Inc, (an

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

for " forward-looking infrared"), a subsidiary of

Teledyne Technologies Teledyne Technologies Incorporated is an American industrial conglomerate. It was founded in 1960, as Teledyne, Inc. by Henry Singleton and George Kozmetsky. From August 1996 to November 1999, Teledyne existed as part of the conglomerate Al ...

since January 2021, specializes in the design and production of thermal imaging cameras and sensors. Its main customers are governments and in 2020, approximately 31% of its revenues were from the

federal government of the United States The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

and its agencies.

History

The company was founded as FLIR Systems in 1978 to pioneer the development of high-performance, low-cost

infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

(thermal) imaging systems for airborne uses. Originally based in

Tigard, Oregon Tigard ( ) is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. The population was 54,539 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Oregon, 12th most populous city in Oregon. Incorporated in 1961, the city i ...

, the company relocated to

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, in the mid-1990s. In 1990, the company acquired the industrial infrared imaging group of

Hughes Aircraft Company The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of the Hughes Tool Company. The company produced the Hughes H-4 Hercules air ...

. In June 1993, the company became a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of share capital, stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) co ...

via an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

, raising $12 million. In January 1998, the company acquired Agema Infrared System of Sweden for approximately $80 million. In January 1999, J. Kenneth Stringer III was named

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the company. In April 1999, the company acquired Inframetrics. In May 2000, Stringer was fired by the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

due to errors in the company's accounting practices, Earl Lewis replaced Stringer as President and CEO of the company, and

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, alon ...

was dismissed as auditor. In January 2001, FLIR agreed to pay $6 million to settle class-action shareholder litigation and FLIR settled with the

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

in October 2002. Three executives were charged with fraudulent accounting. In 2004, the company acquired a building in

Wilsonville, Oregon Wilsonville is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas and Washington County, Oregon, Washington counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded with the name Boones Landing for the Boones Ferry that crossed the Willamette River, the communit ...

, from

Mentor Graphics Mentor Graphics Corporation was a US-based electronic design automation (EDA) multinational corporation for electrical engineering and electronics, headquartered in Wilsonville, Oregon. Founded in 1981, the company distributed products that ass ...

for $10.3 million for use as a new headquarters. In January 2004, FLIR acquired Indigo Systems, a developer and supplier of infrared imaging products, including cooled and uncooled infrared detectors, camera cores, and finished cameras, for $190 million. In 2011, after losing a trade secrets claim against the founders of Indigo Systems, FLIR agreed to pay $39 million to settle a countersuit. Beginning in 2005, the company began supplying

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

with imaging technology for use on its vehicles. In March 2007, the company reported that it would restate its financial statements for the period from 1995 to 2005 due to

options backdating In finance, options backdating is the practice of altering the date a stock option was granted, to a usually earlier (but sometimes later) date at which the underlying stock price was lower. This is a way of repricing options to make them more v ...

. FLIR had been sued by investors for options backdating but the lawsuits were thrown out in November 2007. In October 2007, the company acquired Extech Instruments for $40 million. In April 2008, the company acquired Ifara Tecnologias of Spain for €7.0 million. In December 2009, it sold Extech Data Systems, a division of Extech which made portable printers. Also in December 2009, the company acquired security hardware maker Directed Perception for $20 million. In May 2010, the company acquired

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

Raymarine Raymarine is a manufacturer and major supplier of electronic equipment for marine use. The company targets both recreational and light commercial markets with their products, which include: *GPS Chartplotters *Marine VHF radio, VHF Radios *Digita ...

for $180 million. In December 2012, the company acquired Lorex Technology for $60 million. Lorex was sold to Dahua Technology in 2018 for $29 million. In May 2013, Andrew C. Teich was appointed President and CEO after the retirement of Earl Lewis. In April 2015, the company paid $9.5 million to settle allegations of violations of the

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) (, ''et seq.'') is a United States federal law that prohibits U.S. citizens and entities from Bribery, bribing foreign government officials to benefit their business interests. The FCPA is applic ...

after it paid for a world tour for

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

n officials. According to the

, FLIR earned more than $7 million in profits from sales influenced by the FCPA violations. In November 2015, the company acquired DVTEL, a provider of software and hardware technologies for advanced video surveillance, for approximately $92 million in cash. In February 2016, the company's technology was used by Bullitt Group and

Caterpillar Inc. Caterpillar Inc., also known as Cat, is an American construction, mining and other engineering equipment manufacturer. The company is the world's largest manufacturer of construction equipment. In 2018, Caterpillar was ranked number 73 on the ' ...

in a mobile phone that uses its lightweight thermal imaging technology. In November 2016, FLIR acquired the Canadian company Point Grey Research, owner of the Brickstream brand of camera products, for $259 million. Point Grey Research also owns the Blackfly camera line, the Dragonfly camera line, and the Grasshopper camera line. As of October 2016, Point Grey Research employed more than 300 people in Canada, Germany, Japan, China and Italy. In December 2016, FLIR acquired Prox Dynamics, the makers of the Black Hornet Nano, a nano- drone used by the military and law enforcement for surveillance and reconnaissance, for $134 million. In May 2017, Jim Cannon was appointed President and CEO of the company. In January 2019, the company acquired Aeryon Labs for $200 million. In March 2019, the company acquired Endeavor Robotics, the former iRobot division responsible for unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) for the global military, public safety, and critical infrastructure markets, for $382 million in cash. The company also opened a second headquarters in

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

. In October 2019, the company acquired from Aria Insights patents related to tethered drones, which are connected to the ground with a cable and can stay aloft much longer than drones powered by batteries. The company, formerly known as CyPhy Works, had failed earlier in the year. In April 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the company released a thermal camera that can be used to identify elevated skin temperature. Demand for these products surged, putting stress on the company's supply chain. In January 2021,

announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the company for $8 billion, against FLIR's 2019 revenue of $1.9 billion. The acquisition was completed in May 2021, and FLIR Systems Inc. continued as Teledyne FLIR LLC.

Products

Infrared thermal imaging during a yacht survey

FLIR produces devices for the following markets: * Surveillance and reconnaissance * Force protection * Border and maritime patrol * Critical infrastructure protection * Search and rescue * Detection * Targeting * Airborne law enforcement * Drug interdiction

FLIR One

The FLIR ONE camera is limited to nine frames per second due to United States regulatory concerns. The camera can be used to detect water and air leaks. It is available as an add-on for Android and iOS devices.

AN/PVS-22

The AN/PVS-22, designated as the Universal Night Sight (UNS) is a clip-on night vision sight built off FLIR's MilSight 105 scope. The UNS can be used to engage long-range targets and can handle recoil up to .50BMG. The AN/PVS-22 was originally co-designed by

Knight's Armament Company Knight's Armament Company (KAC) is an American firearms and firearms parts manufacturer, known for producing the Rail Interface System (RIS) and the Rail Adapter System (RAS) grips for firearms use. The company produces a variety of firearms, ...

and OSTI Inc. for SOCOM. Ownership of the tradename "Universal Night Sight" was fought over by KAC and OSTI. It is uncertain how FLIR came to own the rights for the AN/PVS-22 and MilSight 105 design.

Operations

The company has offices, manufacturing, and/or

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...

facilities in

Nashua, New Hampshire Nashua () is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester. It is on ...

;

Goleta, California Goleta ( ; ; Spanish for "schooner") is a city in southern Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It was incorporated as a city in 2002, after a long period as the largest unincorporated populated area in the county. As of the 200 ...

; North Billerica, Massachusetts;

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

;

Bozeman, Montana Bozeman ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. The 2020 United States census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it Montana's fourth-largest city. It is the principal city of the Bozeman, Montan ...

;

Stillwater, Oklahoma Stillwater is the tenth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, Payne County. It is located in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. Route 177#Oklahoma, U.S. Route 177 and Oklahoma S ...

;

Chelmsford, Massachusetts Chelmsford () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Chelmsford was incorporated in May 1655 by an act of the Massachusetts General Court. When Chelmsford was incorporated, its local economy was fueled by lumber mills, ...

;

Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city in and the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States. It is a coastal city located northwest of Los Angeles. The population was 110,763 at the ...

;

Elkridge, Maryland Elkridge is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Howard County, Maryland, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Elkridge is a rapidly growing area; between the 2010 and the 2020 census, the population had grown from ...

;

Freeport, Pennsylvania Freeport is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated along the Allegheny River in the southwestern corner of the county. The population was 1,736 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

;

Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee, Anderson and Roane County, Tennessee, Roane counties in the East Tennessee, eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville. Oak Ridge's po ...

;

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County, Ontario, Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto, but it is n ...

;

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

;

West Lafayette, Indiana West Lafayette ( ) is a city in Wabash and Tippecanoe Townships, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, approximately northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash ...

;

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

;

Täby Täby () was previously a trimunicipal locality, with 76,700 inhabitants in 2024. However, as from 2016, Statistics Sweden has amalgamated this locality with the Stockholm urban area. It is the seat of Täby Municipality in Stockholm County, Sw ...

;

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

; Hvalstad; and

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...

Mentionable use cases of products

In 2017, the company partnered with the WWF's Wildlife Crime Technology Project, an initiative supported by a $5 million grant from Google. FLIR cameras were deployed in several game preserves in Namibia, Kenya, South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe. The program's thermal cameras, along with drones, digital tracking systems and other technology, was used to prevent poaching. On October 4, 2022, the company announced that

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

will use its thermal LWIR camera module, the Boson, in its design of an inflatable re-entry heat shield. On October 25, 2022, the company was awarded $48.7 million (USD) to provide Maritime Forward Looking Infared (MARFLIR) II sensors and variants of the SeaFLIR 280-HD surveillance systems to the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Teledyne FLIR 1978 establishments in Oregon 1993 initial public offerings 2021 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1978 American corporate subsidiaries Avionics companies Companies based in Wilsonville, Oregon Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Defense companies of the United States Electronics companies established in 1978 Manufacturing companies based in Oregon Teledyne Technologies Video surveillance companies