Preformed Line Products Company and its subsidiaries (the “Company”)
is an international designer and manufacturer of products and systems employed
in the construction and maintenance of overhead and underground networks for
the energy, telecommunication, cable operators, information (data communication)
and other similar industries. The Company’s primary products support,
protect, connect, terminate and secure cables and wires. The Company also provides
solar hardware systems and mounting hardware for a variety of solar power applications.
The Company’s goal is to continue to achieve profitable growth as a leader
in the research, innovation, development, manufacture and marketing of technically
advanced products and services related to energy, communications and cable systems
and to take advantage of this leadership position to sell additional quality
products in familiar markets.
The Company serves a worldwide market through strategically located domestic
and international manufacturing facilities. Each of the Company’s domestic
and international manufacturing facilities have obtained an International Organization
of Standardization (“ISO”) 9001:2008 Certified Management System,
with the exception of Direct Power and Water Corporation (DPW), which was acquired
during 2007. The ISO 9001:2008 certified management system is a globally recognized
quality standard for manufacturing and assists the Company in marketing its
products throughout the world. The Company’s customers include public
and private energy utilities and communication companies, cable operators, financial
institutions, governmental agencies, contractors and subcontractors, distributors
and value-added resellers. The Company is not dependent on a single customer
or a few customers. No single customer accounts for more than ten percent of
the Company’s consolidated revenues.
The Company’s products include:
• Formed Wire and Related Hardware Products
• Protective Closures
• Plastic Products
• Other Products
The demand for the Company’s products comes primarily from new, maintenance
and repair construction for the energy (including solar), telecommunication,
data communication and special industries. The Company’s customers use
many of the Company’s products, including formed wire products, to revitalize
the aging outside plant infrastructure. Many of the Company’s products
are used on a proactive basis by the Company’s customers to reduce and
prevent lost revenue. A single malfunctioning line could cause the loss of thousands
of dollars per hour for a power or communication customer. A malfunctioning
fiber cable could also result in substantial revenue loss. Repair construction
by the Company’s customers generally occurs in the case of emergencies
or natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, floods or ice
storms. Under these circumstances, the Company provides the repair products
to customers rapidly.
The Company has adapted the formed wire products’ helical technology for
use in a wide variety of fiber optic cable applications that have special requirements.
The Company’s formed wire products are uniquely qualified for these applications
due to the gentle gripping over a greater length of the fiber cable. This is
an advantage over traditional pole line hardware clamps that compress the cable
to the point of possible fatigue and optical signal deterioration.
The Company’s protective closures and splice cases are used to protect
cable from moisture, environmental hazards and other potential contaminants.
The Company’s splice cases are easily re-enterable closures that allow
utility maintenance workers access to the cables located inside the closure
to repair or add communications services. Over the years, the Company has made
many significant improvements in the splice case that have greatly increased
its versatility and application in the market place. The Company also designs
and markets custom splice cases to satisfy specific customer requirements. This
has allowed the Company to remain a strong partner with several primary customers
and has earned the Company the reputation as a responsive and reliable supplier.
Fiber optic cable was first deployed in the outside plant environment in the
early 1980s. Through fiber optic technologies, a much greater amount of both
voice and data communication can be transmitted reliably. In addition, this
technology solved the cable congestion problem that the large count copper cable
was causing in underground, buried and aerial applications. The Company developed
and adapted copper closures for use in the emerging fiber optic world. In the
late 1980s, the Company developed a series of splice cases designed specifically
for fiber optic application. In the mid-1990s, the Company developed its plastic
COYOTE® Closure, and has since expanded the product line to address Fiber-to-the-Premise
(FTTP) applications. The COYOTE Closure is an example of the Company developing
a new line of proprietary products to meet the changing needs of its customers.
The Company also designs and manufactures data communication cabinets and enclosures
for data communication networks, offering a comprehensive line of copper and
fiber optic cross-connect systems. The product line enables reliable, high-speed
transmission of data over customers’ local area networks.
With the acquisition of DPW in 2007, the Company expanded into the renewable
energy sector. DPW provides a comprehensive line of mounting hardware for a
variety of solar power applications including residential roof mounting, commercial
roofing systems, utility scale ground-mount, top of pole mounting and customized
solutions. DPW also provides design and installation services for residential
and commercial solar power systems primarily in the western
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