Pelican Engineering, originally Palmer Engineering Firm, was launched in 2015. With very little money, the idea for the business was forged out of a small development area borrowed from a partner’s facility. Since then, Pelican Engineering has undergone a remarkable evolution from a humble one-man shop into a thriving electronics design and PCB assembly business.
During the early years, the company focused solely on electronics design work. The first project was an embedded prototype for the oil and gas industry and laid the foundation for many future projects. As demand for prototyping evolved into a request for mass manufacturing, Pelican Engineering answered the call with the purchase of a small pick-and-place PCB assembly machine in 2018.
As a rapidly expanding company, Pelican Engineering was soon running out of space. In 2018, the company transitioned from a modest prototyping space into an independent 80,000 square foot facility situated in downtown Lafayette, Louisiana. The increase in physical space allowed for the acquisition of a full pick and place PCB equipment line, empowering Pelican Engineering to delve into mass manufacturing endeavors. This expansion not only symbolized growth but also positioned the company to seamlessly steer any client’s concept from mere sketches to full-scale production, encompassing electrical design, prototyping, and beyond. Today, Pelican Engineering operates three full manufacturing lines and stands as a beacon of excellence in the industry, producing over 100,000 circuit boards annually.
Pelican Engineering, originally Palmer Engineering Firm, was launched in 2015. With very little money, the idea for the business was forged out of a small development area borrowed from a partner’s facility. Since then, Pelican Engineering has undergone a remarkable evolution from a humble one-man shop into a thriving electronics design and PCB assembly business.
During the early years, the company focused solely on electronics design work. The first project was an embedded prototype for the oil and gas industry and laid the foundation for many future projects. As demand for prototyping evolved into a request for mass manufacturing, Pelican Engineering answered the call with the purchase of a small pick-and-place PCB assembly machine in 2018.
As a rapidly expanding company, Pelican Engineering was soon running out of space. In 2018, the company transitioned from a modest prototyping space into an independent 80,000 square foot facility situated in downtown Lafayette, Louisiana. The increase in physical space allowed for the acquisition of a full pick and place PCB equipment line, empowering Pelican Engineering to delve into mass manufacturing endeavors. This expansion not only symbolized growth but also positioned the company to seamlessly steer any client’s concept from mere sketches to full-scale production, encompassing electrical design, prototyping, and beyond. Today, Pelican Engineering operates three full manufacturing lines and stands as a beacon of excellence in the industry, producing over 100,000 circuit boards annually.
Justin Courville, P.E., PMP, CEO of Pelican Engineering, is an accomplished Professional Engineer (PE) and project management expert with over 18 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. He holds an MBA and is a Project Management Professional (PMP), distinguished by his success in managing complex, high-scope projects with a focus on process improvements, operational efficiency, and technical support. Justin’s expertise spans across designing new facilities, upgrading existing ones, and enhancing maintenance and reliability. His leadership style emphasizes continuous improvement and high performance, always striving to transform visions into realities. Justin’s unique strength lies in his adaptability, managing multiple priorities in dynamic environments and his commitment to operational excellence, which has made him an integral part of global engineering ventures. His proactive approach extends to embracing engineering challenges that others might avoid, showcasing his robust problem-solving skills and passion for innovation.
James Palmer is the founder of Pelican Engineering with 20 years of experience in design and engineering management. His experience is varied across several industries, including defense, industrial and medical sectors.
He is currently an adjunct faculty member at the University of Louisiana where he teaches senior level electives in Digital Signals Processing and Embedded Systems. His hobbies include his family of three kids and martial arts.
Wade Falcon is the Chief Operating Officer at Pelican Engineering with over 20 years of combined professional experience in principal electrical engineering design and overseeing large engineering development teams. With a background in telecommunications and embedded systems, his career has spanned across multiple professional sectors including commercial O&G, aerospace & defense, and academia. His technical expertise ranges from high speed RF & digital design to low-level embedded systems and mixed signal analysis. Over his career, his role developed into a director of programs, overseeing agile development teams, for the energy sector as well as a DoD contractor with budgets over $5MM. Currently, he oversees the operations at Pelican Engineering, comprised of a team of over 25 members.
Outside of engineering, his hobbies are playing music, researching history, writing stories and finding a way to mix all three hobbies together.
Marie Palmer, serving as the Chief Administrative Officer at Pelican Engineering, graduated from UL Lafayette with a BSN. Marie seamlessly transitioned from her role as an Emergency Room nurse to taking the reins of administration at Pelican Engineering in 2015. Her educational excellence, combined with a strategic vision, has contributed to the company’s operational efficiency and overall success.
Currently pursuing an MBA at UL Lafayette, Marie exemplifies a commitment to continuous learning and professional growth. Beyond her corporate endeavors, Marie is a skilled textile artist, actively participating in and contributing to the vibrant arts community in Lafayette.
In addition to her professional and artistic pursuits, Marie is a mother of three, navigating the delicate balance between career and family life. As the Chief Administrative Office at Pelican Engineering, Marie Palmer brings a wealth of experiences that contribute to the company’s success and growth.
A Lafayette native, Nolan John Edwards II is a 2017 graduate of the William Hansen Hall department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Louisiana, a licensed Professional Engineer, and a founding member of Pelican Engineering. Mr. Edwards’s experience in mixed signal electronics design, manufacturability optimization for volume production, and supply chain management during COVID-19 uniquely equips him to serve as our Director of Business Development. He has designed numerous embedded products for use in various challenging industries, such as Class I, Division 1 and 2 systems for use in hazardous locations; Class I and II medical devices; and mass-manufactured process controllers for energy, industrial, and HVAC applications. From West Texas to North Dakota, his experience with field work and project commissioning enables him to serve as a strong customer advocate, having interfaced with technicians at all levels of these sectors. Mr. Edwards is also an industry mentor to UL’s Cajun Advanced Picosatellite Experiment and other capstone design projects.
Outside of the office, Nolan is a motorsport enthusiast, outdoorsman, and family man. He’s often seen at LSU’s Tiger Stadium, cooking a family dinner, or exploring Lafayette’s parks with his wife Olivia and golden Louisiana dog (and company mascot) Bella.
Matt Fanguy, P.E., Director of Manufacturing, is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and has been a member of the Pelican Engineering team since 2018. Since his early days in Houma, Louisiana, Matt has had an interest in mechanical design and volume manufacturing. His educational experience and work within the manufacturing sector of the oil industry make him especially skilled in leading a production team that continually exceeds customer expectations. During his initial tenure at Pelican as a Mechanical Engineer, Matt was instrumental in the design of injection molds and test fixtures, process design, and all mechanical aspects of Pelican’s design services. Matt worked in tandem with the electrical designers to ensure that each product was engineered with manufacturing and assembly in mind. His input helped to ensure every customer could be certain their final product was the both reliable and cost-effective. As Director of Manufacturing, Matt directly applies those 6 years of design experience, along with the production team, to continually improve Pelican’s capabilities and consistently advocate for each customer’s success.
Outside of the office, Matt enjoys listening to live music, fishing and sailing in the Vermilion Bay, and enjoying all the activities and culture Lafayette has to offer.
We take your electronic product idea and make it. Lots of it! Or, if you’d like, we’ll make a few of them at a time until you are ready to go to market. Whatever is right for your budget. You own the rights to everything and we support you along the way. Think of us as your partner in getting your product launched.
Depending on your budget and stage of concept, we offer competitive turnkey solutions for well-defined designs. Not sure what you need? Would prefer to pay as you go? We work closely with many customers to develop a solid design package under a cost-plus budget strategy. This gives the most flexibility in reaching your design goals.
At Pelican Engineering, we do this all the time. We’ve taken loose ideas sketched out and helped our customers create a list of specifications that match their idea. Each idea is analyzed to come up with a custom plan to go from idea to prototype to retail.
We offer small scale manufacturing services as well. In fact, many of our customers are small businesses with big plans to grow. And when they’re ready, we grow with them, providing medium to large quanity production all inhouse.
We have a 20,000sqft manufacturing facility with partnerships with material manufacturers across the globe. We take customer designs and move product from dozens to tens of thousands. In the past, some of our happiest customers are those that needed their product manufactured again after years of obsolescence. In those cases, we’ve redesigned customer’s legacy circuits, redesigned their enclosure, redesigned their software to get their product back on the market with minimum downtime.
Yes! Pelican Engineering’s ISO 9001 certificate can be viewed by clicking here.