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Meade Instruments company history timeline

1972

In 1972, armed with his agreement with Towa, the 29-year-old would-be entrepreneur managed to get a loan of $2500 from the credit union at Hughes Aircraft--the bank he asked for $500 credit flatly refused.

1975

In 1975, the firm turned a profit of $55,000 on $259,000 in sales, up nearly eight-fold from its first year.

1977

Later in 1977, Meade released the first telescopes of its own production--the model 628 and 826 six-inch and eight-inch reflecting telescopes.

1977: Meade begins manufacturing its own products.

1978

In 1978, its sales topped $2 million.

1984

1984: Meade brings the LX3 series of telescopes to market; features include electronic tracking.

1986

1986: Diebel sells Meade to the St Louis-based Harbor Group.

1988

Finally, in 1988, Diebel left the company.

1995

By 1995, Meade telescopes were outselling all competitors combined throughout the world.

1998

In 1998 Meade's sales increased by 27 percent, despite a 40 percent reduction in shipments to the large Japanese market.

In late 1998, the company began production in a brand new 26,000 square foot factory in Tijuana, Mexico that employed 40 people.

2000

As 2000 came to an end, the value of Meade stock leveled out and then began to fall.

2008

Meade, which hadn’t turned a quarterly profit since May 2008, had been plagued in recent years by tighter spending and changing consumer tastes.

2022

Real Estate Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne ask $18 million for Hancock Park estate July 12, 2022

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Founded
1972
Company founded
Headquarters
Irvine, CA
Company headquarter
Founders
John Diebel
Company founders
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Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Meade Instruments, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Meade Instruments. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Meade Instruments. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Meade Instruments. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Meade Instruments and its employees or that of Zippia.

Meade Instruments may also be known as or be related to MEADE INSTRUMENTS CORP, Meade Acquisition Corp dba Meade Instruments, Meade Instruments and Meade Instruments Corp.