Birddog Lighting Joins Forces with Action Lighting

By Hagan Schmidt, COO & Lighting Expert – 09/29/26

Birddog Lighting Joins Forces with Action Lighting

Birddog Lighting is entering a new chapter, and we’re excited about what it can mean for our customers.

That new chapter begins with a change in ownership. Peter Carlson, who also owns Action Lighting, has purchased Birddog from longtime owner Josh Knoedler. Action serves a different corner of the lighting market, and bringing the two businesses together creates new opportunities for both.

At the same time, Birddog is still Birddog. We will continue under the same name and website, with the same focus on decorative and linear lighting that customers have relied on since 2002. What changes is the range of knowledge, products and project capabilities available through the relationship.

Why Action Lighting Is a Natural Fit

Action Lighting has been in business since 1987 and has developed deep expertise in areas that extend Birddog's existing strengths. The company serves professional Christmas light installers, amusement and carnival operators, sign companies, entertainment venues, commercial properties, and customers with large or specialized lighting projects.

Action also develops custom commercial lighting solutions and provides product and installation training. This team understands the demands of real-world professional installations, including design, electrical planning, safety, troubleshooting, estimating, and efficient project execution.

Birddog's expertise sits alongside that experience naturally. Our specialty remains with LED rope lights, strip lights, neon-style linear lighting, exclusive LED signs, holiday decor and the accessories that turn individual products into finished projects. Our custom-cut service also gives customers a convenient way to order rope, strip and other linear lighting in project-ready lengths.

What This Means for Birddog Customers

By joining forces with Action Lighting, Birddog customers gain:
  • Access to additional expertise in professional Christmas lighting and installation.
  • More support for amusement, signage, architectural and large commercial applications.
  • A broader selection of complementary products and project solutions.
  • Connections to hands-on training and practical installation knowledge.
  • The combined experience of two Montana companies with more than six decades of operating history.

For a homeowner or do-it-yourself customer, Birddog will remain a helpful source for flexible lighting, decorative products and project guidance. For installers and commercial customers, the relationship creates a clearer path to specialized products, training and support when a job grows in size or complexity.

"We want to preserve everything customers value about Birddog Lighting while giving them access to more products, knowledge and practical support," said Peter Carlson, owner of Action Lighting and Birddog Lighting. "The two companies serve different parts of the lighting market, and that is exactly what makes this such a strong fit."

A Montana-to-Montana Transition

Birddog Lighting and Action Lighting are both Montana-based small businesses, and Carlson and Knoedler are longtime Montana residents. The new relationship keeps Birddog under Montana-based ownership while connecting two companies that have grown from the Gallatin Valley to serve customers nationwide.

That shared background matters. Both companies built their reputations by learning specialized products, solving unusual lighting challenges and helping customers complete projects that are difficult to support through a general retailer. Joining forces allows that practical, customer-focused approach to continue with a wider range of capabilities behind it.

Looking Ahead

This is the beginning of a new chapter, and customers will see opportunities develop over time as the companies share product knowledge, sourcing strength, inventory resources, training capabilities and project experience. The goal is not to erase the distinction between Birddog and Action Lighting. It is to make both brands more useful to the customers they serve.

You can continue shopping Birddog's decorative, rope, strip, neon-style and custom-cut lighting here, at BirddogLighting.com. For professional holiday, amusement and custom commercial lighting solutions, visit ActionLighting.com.