On June 29, Chatsworth Products (CPI) released a statement recounting how this year, it celebrates its 30th anniversary as "a 100% employee-owned company committed to delivering innovative infrastructure solutions serving the dynamic and complex information and communications technology (ICT) industry worldwide."
Founded in 1991, when 90 employees bought out a portion of the Dracon Division of Harris Corp. using an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), CPI observed that its presence during the rapid increase of internet usage in the dot-com era propelled the company to develop an impressive portfolio of racks, runways and cable management products that improved the way ICT professionals stored and protected equipment.
Since then, the company's technology portfolio has grown to include thousands of products, ranging from CPI’s intelligent eConnect power distribution units (PDUs) and the highly customizable ZetaFrame Cabinet, to its RMR industrial edge enclosures, and the pioneering thermal innovations of the CPI Passive Cooling Solutions, and the practical benefits of its popular Clik-Nut cage nut accessory—"each design inspired by solving everyday customer challenges, and then meeting and exceeding customers’ needs," the company stated.
And today, after steady global expansion into six continents, CPI notes it has "honed its agile manufacturing capabilities to efficiently provide engineered, customer-specified solutions to help organizations of all sizes quickly, and confidently adapt to digital transformation across platforms such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G wireless networks."
Michael Custer, CPI's President and CEO, commented, “CPI is proud to have built a 30-year history with a strong, enduring presence in industries that enable a more connected life. Strengthened by the passion of employees with ownership in the business, CPI strives to deliver quality in everything we do. Our experience responding rapidly with tailored standard and custom solutions gives CPI customers a higher return on their digital transformation investment. There’s no short-term thinking here, and we see long lasting distributor and customer relationships as our most important investment."
CPI's statement concluded by contending:
CPI’s commitment and expertise in scalable customization is unequalled in the data center industry, and it’s a major reason why CPI products have become sought-after mainstays of modern data centers and edge locations around the world, including the Regents Emirates Pearl Hotel in Abu Dhabi, Anthem Inc. and AmerisourceBergen in the United States, iLink in Hong Kong, Telefônica Vivo in South America, and Telecity Group in Europe. In these facilities and countless others, CPI has provided complete solutions that not only power and protect technology equipment, but also help companies meet green IT requirements.
Finally, in the past several years, CPI contends it has taken innovation to new levels with the development of several patented and award-winning solutions that allow for on-site customization and easier user experience, while continuing to grow with important acquisitions of Oberon Inc., a provider of mounting solutions for wireless access points and antennas, and R.F. Mote, a Canadian-based manufacturer. In 2019, the company also invested in a new Electronics & Software Technology Center in Round Rock, Texas, and the expansion of its New Bern, N.C. facility.
Slated for a ceremony later this year, CPI said it plans to cap off its milestone 30th anniversary by opening a new global headquarters and state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Simi Valley, Calif., more than doubling its physical footprint not far from the original Chatsworth, Calif. facility that gave CPI its start and name.