Graybar and Ortronics - A Longstanding History

Graybar and Ortronics - A Longstanding History (continued)
Quality products cannot stand alone - successful installations require the skill and expertise of a trained contractor to maximize the performance of the system. Needs and concerns of our contractors are a critical component to the design of products that are easier to install and therefore more likely to provide the best system for the customer. Our products are also modular in design, which makes them easier and quicker to install, saving you time on the job and creating savings that can be passed along to your customers. We cannot emphasize this enough - if there is something about our products that could be improved to make them easier to install, we want to know! Please contact us at 877-599-5393 (toll free) or connect@ortronics.com, if you have any concerns or ideas that you would like to discuss with our technical design team.

Pieces of History (continued)
Originally founded in 1966 to produce electrical coils and wire harness assemblies for IBM®, Ortronics began manufacturing (and selling through Graybar) pre-connectorized cables and assemblies for ITT in 1968 and by the early 1970s was strictly assembling connectorized cable, coils and blocks for the Bell operating companies. In 1985, Ortronics was the first to introduce what is now known as "structured cabling" with the first Category 5 patch panel.

As the telecommunications industry demanded better, technology-driven structured cabling solutions to support high-speed application like Gigabit Ethernet and Voice over IP, Ortronics introduced many more technological breakthroughs, including Clarity6, the first Category 6 component compliant line of connectivity available in the market. Clarity6 is an industry leader in both performance and ease of installation with mechanical improvements to accommodate termination of the larger Category 6 cable. This allows you to terminate them more quickly with less room for error, and when installed in a NetClearGT3 solution, provides 4dB of field-verifiable headroom above the TIA/EIA-568B standards.

Teaming Up for Success (continued)
Ortronics and Graybar rely on one another to deliver the highest quality products to our customers as quickly as possible to meet the demanding timeframes and requirements that many of our customers have for their projects. Ortronics innovative technology combined with Graybar's ability to provide distinctive customized stocking solutions and reliable delivery have helped us to secure many major national accounts, including CVS/Pharmacy, Best Buy, Target, Nordstrom, TD Waterhouse, Seagate Technology and Wachovia Financial Services, as well as many other large projects in education, healthcare and other industries. Just listen to our customers to see how important good distribution can be to the success of their installation.

"An important factor in meeting the tight timeframes for this project was the ability of the stocking distributor, Graybar, to have necessary cable and connectivity products available when we needed them," commented Adam Marsh, senior systems analyst for CH2M Hill, a multinational professional services firm, who recently installed a NetClearGT2 Category 6 and NetClearGT3 enhanced Category 6 cabling solution from Ortronics and Berk-Tek in their new 17-acre campus.

Karen Walsh, of Cable Solutions, LLC, the lead communications installer for the construction of Phoenix Children's Hospital's new facility also emphasized the critical nature of fast, reliable distribution.

"Since this was an existing facility, the construction crew would demolish and rebuild in phases as each area emptied, so timing of delivery of parts was crucial and sometimes on a 'stand-by' basis," notes Walsh, who was involved with the infrastructure planning and negotiations with the general contractor and electrical engineers. "Choosing a reliable distributor was of utmost importance and we selected Graybar because they are the largest Ortronics and Berk-Tek distributor in the area and nationally, with three warehouses in Phoenix and could often get the parts to the job site before they were needed," she adds.

The standardization of cabling components made it easy to have on hand the exact products needed when they were ready to go on to the next building. "Ortronics and Berk-Tek ship directly to Graybar's 14 stocking zone locations. From there, parts get distributed to the more than 250 national Graybar locations in a day's notice," states Stephanie Atkins, sales representative for Graybar (Phoenix, AZ). "As a partner in the Graybar VIP independent performance verification program, the Berk-Tek and Ortronics product combination was tested in advance and has the additional performance assurance of a VIP 1000 verified product combination," she adds.