ADC Telecommunications
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| ADC Telecommunications | |
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| Type | Public NASDAQ: ADCT |
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| Founded | Minneapolis, Minnesota 1935 |
| Headquarters | Eden Prairie, Minnesota |
| Key people | Robert E. Switz, President & CEO |
| Industry | Communications Services |
| Products | Networking hardware, Telecommunications |
| Revenue |  $1.2 billion USD (FY2005) |
| Employees | 8,200 |
| Website | www.adc.com |
ADC Telecommunications (NASDAQ: ADCT) is a communications company located in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a southwest suburb of Minneapolis.
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[edit] History
In 1935, Ralph Allison founded ADC Telecommunications in the basement of his south Minneapolis home, inventing ADC's very first product, the audiometer, an electronic device designed to test hearing.
Two years later, fellow engineer Walt Lehnert joined Allison, and together they diversified the company's product line to include amplifiers and transformers for the broadcast industry. By 1942, the company had designed a sophisticated audio system for the University of Minnesota, and the resulting jacks, plugs, patch cords and jackfields became the cornerstones for ADC's later entry into telecommunications.
In 1949, ADC sold its audiometer product line and Ralph Allison left the company to form a new business in California. ADC diversified and focused its efforts in the area of transformers and filters for power lines, military electronics, telephone jacks and plugs. In 1961, ADC merged with Magnetic Controls Company, a manufacturer of power supplies and magnetic amplifiers with strong ties to the U.S. space program. The resulting company, ADC Magnetic Controls, had a decade of mixed success. Although transformer sales boomed during the 1960s, other new product initiatives failed to materialize. Perhaps the most significant product innovation during this period was the bantam jack, a miniaturized component that eventually became the standard for telephone circuit access and patching. Building on its growing sales of jacks and plugs in the early 1970s, ADC introduced prewired, connectorized jackfields, wired assemblies and test equipment for telephone operating companies. By 1974 the company was on solid ground, and by 1976, ADC had become the largest independent supplier of test boards in the United States.
ADC grew in 1983, when AT&T was ordered to deregulate by the federal government. By establishing the seven Regional Bell Operating Company (RBOC) carriers as independent entities, the U.S. market for telecommunications expanded by 90 percent. ADC became a supplier for the RBOCs.
ADC embarked on some acquisitions in the early 1990s, attempting to move "up the stack" in the datacom field by acquiring companies that manufactured datacom equipment. However, their ability to find synergies between these companies proved limited and eventually ADC was forced to move away from a hardware-only strategy, broadening out into software. This effort resulted in limited success as well, and happening about the same time as the dot-com bubble burst, caused ADC stock to plummet.
Despite these ups and downs, ADC has survived. Today, ADC provides communication network infrastructure for wireless, wireline cable, broadcast, and enterprise networks around the world. It generates three-fourths of its sales from broadband infrastructure equipment designed for public and private networks. Customers include Verizon, BellSouth, Sprint/Nextel, Graybar Electric, and Time Warner Cable.
[edit] Executives
- Robert E. Switz is the current President and CEO.
Other senior executives include:
- Michael Day -Chief Technical Officer
- Gokul Hemmady -Chief Financial Officer
[edit] Corporate acquisitions
In 1993, ADC acquired Fibermux Corp., a manufacturer of LAN Hubs and Data Multiplexers, later merging the Fibermux division with the Kentrox subsidiary. ADC also acquired American Lightwave Systems, a manufacturer of uncompressed video transport equipment for telecom carriers. This division was later sold to C-COR Electronics. In 1996, ADCT merged with ITS (Information Transmission Systems) but has since sold it off. In FY2005, ADC acquired Fiber Optic Network Solutions (FONS) to expand its FTTX offerings and OpenCell to enhance its wireless coverage and capacity offerings.
