Anixter Inc. has sold the rights and intellectual property associated with its testing and certification process for Levels XP channels to Underwriters Laboratories.
The only specification of its kind-Levels XP (Expanded Performance) measures network cable performance on live data and certifies the capability of a cabling system to minimize bit errors. It is the most accurate measurement of data throughput and enterprise network bandwidth and will now be available exclusively through Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the recognized leader in conformity assessment services.
Under the terms of the sale, UL will now perform all Levels XP channel testing and certification for existing Levels XP partners and new clients at its state-of-the-art XP lab in UL's Melville, NY facility. Anixter will continue to market and support Levels XP as the cornerstone of its marketing strategy.
The Levels XP channel-testing effort emerged as an outgrowth of Anixter's Levels program. Initiated in 1988, the Levels program was created as a means of evaluating, categorizing and establishing standards of performance for cable and cabling systems used within an enterprise network. It is the basis upon which the industry's Category system (Category 5, Category 5e, etc.) is founded and standards of performance are based.
"The very fact that UL purchased our Levels XP channel and certification process, validates our procedures and the importance of throughput and bandwidth verification," states Frank Coletto, senior vice president of marketing for Anixter. "This is a real win-win for UL, Anixter and our customers. It allows UL, the world leader in independent testing, to do exactly what it does best-namely, superior testing and certification."
"We are pleased to take over the reins of the Levels XP testing and certification program from Anixter," comments Steve Galan, wire and cable manager for Underwriters Laboratories. "This reinforces UL's commitment to providing premium testing solutions for the wire and cable industry and expands our service capabilities even further for our clients."
Anixter will maintain its Levels Lab facility, according to Pete Lockhart, the company's vice president of technology.
"We will continue to perform component testing in our lab and random testing of our inventory stock," Lockhart points out. "It's a commitment to our customers and a commitment to quality that we intend to keep. Our mission will continue to focus on new and better ways to serve our valued customers."
Anixter International, based in Skokie, IL, is a distributor of communication products. For more information visit at www.anixter.com.