By Erin Harrison, Senior Editor
Describing the company’s humble roots, Panduit CEO John Caveney on Monday evening addressed a standing room only crowd of partners, customers and industry leaders at the kick-off of Panduit’s first UPI Symposium, where he provided a timeline of Panduit’s steady growth and transformation over the past 55 years.
Kicking off the grand opening of its new world headquarters, he said the Tinley Park, Ill.-based company’s new headquarters brings to life the solutions of Panduit’s key partners including: Haworth, EMC, Emerson (News – Alert), Tridium, Lutron, Cisco, Fluke Networks, General Cable and IBM.Established in 1955, Panduit has grown steadily, becoming an industry leader with sales over $500 million, 3,500 employees and more than two million square feet of facilities. Panduit has expanded from its initial headquarters facility in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park, IL, to multiple U.S. locations, as well as plants and sales subsidiaries throughout the world.Caveney described to the audience just how humble Panduit’s beginnings were – the company began in his father’s West Side Chicago basement. Caveney’s father, an electrical engineer, realized there was a need for reliable electrical products and it was also through his inaugural product – a wiring duct – that was the basis for how Panduit was named, a fusing of the words “panel” and “conduit.”That very product still sells in large volume 55 years later, a result Caveney believes that isn’t based on luck, but rather a foundation of foresight on which Panduit was built. Those core values that date back to 1955 still hold true today; running the company with “zero” debt, and operating an organization based on common sense. (In the early days, Caveney’s father sold his electrical products strictly on a “cash on delivery,” or COD, basis. He simply didn’t have the funding to support the receivables, but built up a customer base that trusted his product and service).Caveney summarized the belief his father lived by that today remains a tradition: “When there is a problem, there is an opportunity.’ Panduit has fully capitalized on that principle, and employs it through innovation based on technology and common sense. Panduit, he explained, has transformed from a product-focused company to a solutions-focused company – one where collaboration with its partners and customers continues to help shape its future.As TMCnet recently reported, company officials called the world headquarters an important step in the evolution of Panduit, providing a proof of concept for Panduit’s Unified Physical Infrastructure philosophy that demonstrates intelligent design, implementation and management of unified systems and building architecture. Panduit’s UPI approach not only delivers optimal efficiency, but also significantly reduces capital and operational expenses in buildings while enhancing productivity, safety, reliability and sustainability.The UPI Symposium will continue on June 15 at Panduit’s World Headquarters. Check back on the Smart Data Centers community for the latest news.
Erin Harrison is a senior editor with TMCnet, primarily covering telecom expense management, politics and technology and Web 2.0. She serves as senior editor for TMC’s (News – Alert) print publications, including “Internet Telephony”, “Customer Interaction Solutions”, “Unified Communications” and “NGN” magazines. Erin also oversees production of TMCnet’s weekly iPhone (News – Alert) e-Newsletter. To read more of Erin’s articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Erin Harrison
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