The Siemon Company, a pioneer in structured cabling systems, is celebrating 100 years of operation.
The year 2003 will mark the centennial celebration for The Siemon Company (www.siemon.com), which was launched in Connecticut in 1903 by Carl F. Siemon and run today by his great-grandson Carl N. Siemon.
"As time passes, I have more and more respect for time," says Carl N. Siemon, current president of the company. "Every minute is a bonus."
The Siemon Company representatives, during a recent celebration at its Watertown Conn. Headquarters, met with employees in the company parking lot for a celebratory cookout. Company representatives took members of the press and public on a tour of the facilities, showing everything from fiber connector assembly operations to research and development laboratories.
The Siemon Company was launched in 1903 when Carl F. Siemon, a chemist with experience in plastics, began the Siemon Hard Rubber Company. Working with partner Waldo Bryant, the company created imitation stag-horn knife handles out of a durable plastic.
The company entered the fledgling telecommunications market in 1906 with the manufacturing of a 3-pole connecting block. The block resisted the cracking and breaking so common with the ceramic blocks of the day. It became a staple product for Western Electric, now known as AT&T.
The company would later produce ear and mouthpieces for early telephones, plastic dinnerware for the U.S. Navy in World War II, and phonograph records. Throughout the decades, The Siemon Company expanded from its original equipment manufacturer roots.
Carl N. Siemon is credited with helping to drive The Siemon Company to produce brand name products for the structured cabling sector of the telecom industry.
Carl says that, ironically, he never planned to work for his family's company. But his plans changed when he graduated from college, and his father asked him to help out on a temporary basis.
"I said I would help for a year. Now The Siemon Company has been my life," says Carl.
Through his leadership, the company produced network jacks, patch panels, tools, testers and more for the computer networking industry. By the 1990s, the company was a world-class supplier of structured cabling systems. It was the first company to deliver a Category 6 cabling solution, and now offers a commercially available Category 7 solution. The company's products are part of the telecommunications infrastructure used in office buildings and Local Area Networks (LANs) around the world.