Staring down the "worst recession since The Depression" as we have all heard ad nauseam, data-communications industry veteran Tony Casazza has launched QuickTreX, a product manufacturer. Currently the QuickTreX brand includes four product categories, but Casazza says more will be added in the coming year. The initial product set includes the following.
- Copper cabling hardware including plugs, jacks and patch panels
- FiberWhips - preterminated fiber-optic cable assemblies that can be custom ordered
- Tools for terminating, testing and installing network cabling
- Toolkits
Though launched this year, the company is based on an idea Casazza says he's had for many years. (Watch a video of Tony Casazza demonstrating how to install Cat 5e and Cat 6 plugs.) Before founding QuickTreX, he operated online data-communications supply store LANshack for more than a decade after years of field work as an electrician and structured cabling installer. LANshack is still in full operation and carries QuickTreX products. "In the online store we faced the product limitations set by various manufacturers and always knew that we could do much better in many different ways," he says.
In an announcement of the company's launch, Casazza expressed reason for optimism even in the economy of 2010. He said, "Some industry naysayers had been predicting the end of structured cabling due to the introduction of wireless technologies. In fact, these days we are actually seeing more opportunity for structured cabling due to the need for infrastructure for new technologies, including wireless. A campus WiFi system must be interconnected by a network of fiber-optic cabling to assure full speed and bandwidth for all hot spots. Other technologies increasing the need for structured cabling include Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet, colocation, video over twisted pair, network security systems and Power over Ethernet just to name a few."
He added that he has identified entities around the globe that are willing to work with QuickTreX to develop new products. Some of those established partnerships have resulted in the products now available from QuickTreX, with the promise of more to come. "QuickTreX tools ... are thoroughly designed, engineered and tested by experts under real-world conditions," Casazza states.
