TIA Member Spotlight:
 Ortronics/Legrand, headquartered in New London, Conn. USA, is a global leader in commercial Category 5e, Category 6 and 10 Gig copper, fiber optic, wireless and residential/MDU high performance structured cabling systems, including patch panels, patch cords, workstation outlets, physical support solutions, 110 cross-connect systems and more. Ortronics/Legrand also offers Wiremold and Cablofil pathway systems and solutions, as well as engineering and technical support, systems planning, training programs and a 25-year warranty program. Ortronics/Legrand is a subsidiary of Legrand, the world specialist in products and systems for electrical installations and information networks, offering solutions for use in residential, commercial and industrial buildings.
Ortronics President, Mark Panico spoke with PULSE Online staff about the history of his company, the products and solutions it offers and the value of TIA membership.
- Please give us a brief history of Ortronics and tell our readers about your typical clientele.
Ortronics, founded in 1966 by Maurice "Mo" Orlando, originally entered the market as a manufacturer of reed relay coils. Our first major customer was IBM, and in 1968, Ortronics began producing preconnectorized cable and assemblies for ITT. In 1985, Ortronics entered the data communications market with modular networking products such as patch panels and data adapters that worked in the twisted-pair network environment. In 1998, Ortronics was purchased by Legrand of Limoges, France, the world's leading producer of wiring devices.
Ortronics now provides high-performance structured cabling solutions for LAN and data center/SAN installations in many different markets, including commercial enterprise, education, healthcare, finance, retail, government, hotels/hospitality, entertainment/gaming and residential/MDU. End-users include IT/network managers and data center managers. Installers, integrators and consultants also play a critical role in designing and specifying the infrastructure solutions in which are our products are used.
- How does Ortronics play an active role in developing industry standards?
Ortronics/Legrand plays an active role in developing industry standards by its participation in many governing bodies, such as the TIA/EIA TR-42 Engineering Committee, the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Standards Committee, BICSI and ISO. In addition, our ability to develop new products and technology at a rapid pace continues to drive industry standards.
- Give us an overview of Ortronics' extensive range of standard and custom connectivity products and how they provide value-added network solutions for high performance, high capacity structured cabling systems that support today's multimedia environments and emerging technologies.
Ortronics/Legrand is a global leader in commercial Category 5e, Category 6, and 10 Gig copper, fiber optic, wireless and residential/MDU high performance, high capacity structured cabling systems, including patch panels, patch cords, workstation outlets, cable management systems, 110 cross-connect systems, Cablofil cable trays and Wiremold pathways. We provide a connectivity infrastructure that will keep companies connected to others and to the resources they need - simply, reliably and seamlessly. Whether the need is to run copper, fiber or wireless. under floors, behind walls or in ceilings. a small business or large campus. a LAN, SAN or data center. a distributed, centralized or zoned architecture, Ortronics/Legrand can be counted on for a trouble-free, worry-free cabling system.
Innovation at Ortronics/Legrand begins with deep insight into end-user needs and evolving applications. Exceptional engineering and fully equipped R&D labs apply the best mix of theory and practice to achieve industry-leading performance and ease of use. As data rates climb to 10Gb/s and beyond, higher bandwidth requirements put a premium on both advanced engineering and manufacturing to achieve full channel performance. Our engineering expertise ensures we'll be there with products for these ever-evolving needs. Our products are designed for superior performance - matched and tuned to perform better under all conditions. A comfortable margin of extra performance gives you the confidence and peace of mind that your cabling system will operate flawlessly - day in and day out.
Our main product lines include:
Clarity Elevated Copper Connectivity
Clarity is an evolutionary advancement in 10 Gig, Category 6 and Category 5e UTP and FTP copper connectivity. Synchronized Clarity components are designed to create optimally tuned connector unions for heightened installed performance beyond the standards. Clarity components include patch panels, patch cords, TracJack and Series II workstation modules, and 110 cross-connect systems.
OptiMo Fiber Optic Solutions
OptiMo fiber optic solutions offer high-performance targeted to the requirements of enterprise network and data center/SAN applications. With products to support single-mode, multimode and enhanced bandwidth multimode applications, including 10 Gigabit Ethernet, OptiMo fiber solutions guarantee quality and performance now and well into the future. The broad range of OptiMo products includes fiber enclosures, adapter panels, workstation solutions, field-installable connectors and Momentum modular pre-terminated cassette systems.
Ortronics Wireless Solutions
Ortronics Wireless Solutions, featuring the innovative Wi-Jack wall mount access point, are fully integrated with the structured cabling infrastructure and offer advanced security, high performance, easy installation and maintenance, and simple centralized management.
Mighty Mo Cable Management System
The Mighty Mo cable management system includes a complete selection of racks, cabinets and cable management accessories to provide the superior cable management you need to get the best network performance. Built with flexibility, technology and aesthetics in mind, the Mighty Mo system offers total support for your network. No other system makes it easier to install your network with standards- compliant bend radius, cable routing and strain relief. The newest system in the Mighty Mo family is the Mighty Mo 6 Cable Management System, a complete advanced racking system specifically designed for higher density cabling system applications, such as premises networks, data centers and SANs.
- Tell us more about Ortronics and its value-added services that include engineering/technical support, training and educational programs, custom capabilities, systems planning and global support. How have these services been instrumental in meeting the needs of industry, but more importantly, your customers?
Ortronics/Legrand offers outstanding support to make the journey from designing and specifying a system to installing and certifying it easy, productive and hassle-free. Highlights of our support include:
- A network of certified installers, who undergo comprehensive training by Ortronics/Legrand to acquire the skills needed to install our systems flawlessly
- RCDD-certified trainers and technical support
- Third-party testing for assurance that our products perform as promised
- System design engineers to assist with your network design
- Online and toll-free technical support to get you fast answers or help with selecting products
- Online design tools, including an interactive product guide, drawings, specifications, instruction sheets, and AutoCAD and Visio icons
- Expertise to aid in the design of configured product solutions from pre-loaded racks to ready-to-go workstation kits
- Industry leading warranties guaranteeing that our system will perform to specification for any application designed to run on it
- Global presence with operations, customer support and distribution partners worldwide
- Describe the new release of 'Momentum 2', which creates a cost-effective solution that provides a simple, quick and high performing cassette-based fiber optic structured cabling system.
 Momentum 2 is the next generation of the popular Momentum modular, pre-terminated fiber optic cabling system. Momentum 2 combines state-of-the-art optical ribbon cabling, industry-leading MTP® termination, advanced LC polishing and innovative hardware to create a cost-effective solution that provides a simple, quick and high performing cassette-based fiber optic structured cabling system.
Designed for use in mission-critical data centers and storage area networks, the Momentum 2 pre-terminated modular fiber optic system enables quick deployment, eliminates the possibility of optical performance flaws, and provides increased flexibility for network design. Momentum 2 makes moves, adds and changes quick, easy and error-free, and ensures unsurpassed optical performance with superior optical fiber and best-in-class pre-terminated connectors.
- You launched a new interactive tool with Berk-Tek for simplifying calculation of maximum allowable cable plant loss for 10 Gbps fiber optic systems. Tell us more about how this product works and why it's important to today's most advanced enterprise networks.
Ortronics/Legrand and Berk-Tek simplify structured cabling system planning through our innovative fiber optic cable plant loss budget calculator. Moving beyond simple attenuation and insertion loss considerations, this revolutionary tool demonstrates the advantages of utilizing state-of-the-art, low differential mode delay (DMD) optical fiber coupled with reduced modal noise connections. Our NetClear MM10 fiber solution effectively reduces Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI) penalties associated with high speed transmission systems such as 10GBASE-SR. 10GBASE-SR is the IEEE standard for cost-effective multimode 10 Gbps Ethernet operating at the economical 850 nm wavelength.
At www.netclear-channel.com there is an excellent white paper entitled "Using Low DMD, Laser Optimized Multimode Fiber to Expand 10-Gigabit Network Design Options" as well as the NetClear Link Loss Budget calculator tool.
- Tell us the value you gain from your TIA membership.
Ortronics/Legrand is an active participant in TIA. Doing so has allowed us to collaborate with other industry leaders to define standard-based solutions for our customers. In addition, it is a valuable resource to learn more about our industry and trends in the marketplace.
*Product/Service descriptions have been provided by the Ortronics/Legrand, and TIA presents the information without any responsibility as to its accuracy.
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