Since CommScope’s manufacturing plant in Claremont, N.C. opened in 1990, it has produced enough cable to travel to the moon and back about 18 times. In its 25-year history, the facility has not just manufactured cable, but it has evolved to manufacture innovative and standard-setting solutions to meet the ever changing needs of the network infrastructure industry.
That evolution contributed significantly toward making CommScope into an industry leading network infrastructure provider, and much of the company’s success can be traced back to the research and innovation in the Claremont facility.
“The Claremont facility has been at the center of CommScope’s networking infrastructure manufacturing since 1990,” said Eddie Edwards, president and chief executive officer, CommScope. “Since the facility opened 25 years ago, the industry has changed. To evolve as a company, this facility had to evolve as well.
“CommScope is thankful for the Claremont employees that continue to deliver superior technology, solutions and services to our customers and partners.”
When Claremont first opened, it manufactured such items as unshielded twisted pair (copper telephone wiring), television receive-only cables (used for consumer satellite reception) and personal computer cables. As the industry evolved, Claremont’s role has evolved as well. The facility was expanded four times to keep up with increased network infrastructure demands. CommScope’s research and development has stayed ahead of the industry needs by developing structured cabling solutions that would later become industry standards.
Today, Claremont is one of CommScope’s main manufacturing and product development facilities for its broadband and enterprise divisions. Employees produce twisted pair, fiber and coaxial cables for use in data center and enterprise network architectures as well as cable television and wireless networks. This ISO14001 certified 583,000-square foot facility employs more than 600 people and it produces more than 2 billion feet of cable every year—enough to circle the earth 14 times.
“The start-up of the Claremont site in 1990 was perfectly timed to the early days of the structured cabling systems industry,” said Kevin St. Cyr, senior vice president of Enterprise Solutions, CommScope. “That foresight into what the industry will need in the future has led CommScope to become standard setters.”
CommScope is a world leader in enterprise connectivity solutions for data centers and commercial buildings. The Claremont facility manufactures the company’s industry-leading SYSTIMAX® and Uniprise® connectivity solutions—including fiber optics, coaxial and twisted pair cabling and apparatus (connectors/patch panels, etc.)—that continue to drive the evolution of data networks.
St. Cyr added that CommScope developed 10 Claremont-manufactured solutions that were later adopted by the industry as structured cabling standards. For example, CommScope introduced SYSTIMAX® PDS cabling in 1985 and it was later adopted as the Category 3 cabling for uses in telephone lines. Other examples include:
- High-5TM was introduced in 1993 and adopted two years later as the standard for Category 5 cabling for use in computer networks (i.e., Ethernet and video)
- PowerSUM was introduced in 1996 and adopted three years later as the standard for Category 5e cabling for Ethernet networks
- GigaSPEED® became the Category 6 cabling standard in 2002, five years after it was introduced. It was an upgrade to Category 5/5e cabling delivering faster data delivery and less crosstalk and noise for network systems
- DMD and LazrSPEED® 300 became the first standardized OM3 multi-mode fiber in 2002 to be used in communication networks over a maximum of 2,000 feet (i.e., deployed within a building or campus)
- LazrSPEED 550 was introduced in 2003 and became the first standardized OM4 multi-mode fiber in 2009 delivering faster, higher bandwidth for network communications
- TeraSPEED® became the first standardized OS2 single-mode optical fiber in 2006 to be used long distance, higher bandwidth runs by telecommunication companies, cable television providers, colleges and universities.
- GigaSPEED X10D cabling became the Category 6A cabling standard four years after it was introduced in 2004 and is quickly becoming the go-to cable standard for network installers
- InstaPATCH® 360 was adopted one year after it was launched in 2005 as the Method B standard for pre-terminated cables used in data centers
CommScope was also ahead of the industry introducing Intelligent Infrastructure in 2001. It was the industry’s first ever solution that connected all vital networks in office buildings and large venues. Intelligent Infrastructure was adopted as a standard in 2012 by the Telecommunications Industry Association / Electronic Industries Alliance.
“Certainly, the industry has evolved in terms of bandwidth requirements. Along the way, the Claremont site has stayed ahead of the performance curve developing, producing and shipping copper and fiber-optic solutions to customers around the world,” St. Cyr added.
Edwards added that the demand for CommScope solutions continues to be driven by the rapid growth of data traffic and need for bandwidth from the ongoing adoption of smartphones, tablets, machine-to-machine communication and the proliferation of data centers, big data, cloud-based services and streaming media content.
“CommScope enables communication through a constant focus on innovation, agility and integrity,” Edwards said. “We continue to drive innovation in networks and technologies with high-performance, high-quality products and many of those products are manufactured here in Claremont.”
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High-5TM is a trademark of CommScope, Inc. SYSTIMAX, Uniprise, GigaSPEED, TeraSPEED and InstaPATCH are registered trademarks of CommScope, Inc.
About CommScope:
CommScope (NASDAQ: COMM) helps companies around the world design, build and manage their wired and wireless networks. Our vast portfolio of network infrastructure includes some of the world’s most robust and innovative wireless and fiber optic solutions. Our talented and experienced global team is driven to help customers increase bandwidth; maximize existing capacity; improve network performance and availability; increase energy efficiency; and simplify technology migration. You will find our solutions in the largest buildings, venues and outdoor spaces; in data centers and buildings of all shapes, sizes and complexity; at wireless cell sites; in telecom central offices and cable headends; in FTTx deployments; and in airports, trains, and tunnels. Vital networks around the world run on CommScope solutions.
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This press release includes forward-looking statements that are based on information currently available to management, management’s beliefs, as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results to differ materially from those currently expected. In providing forward-looking statements, the company does not intend, and is not undertaking any obligation or duty, to update these statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Source: CommScope
News Media Contact:
Joseph P. Depa III, CommScope
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