Black Box Corporation
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Nasdaq: BBOX | |
| Industry | Telecommunication |
| Founded | Monroeville, Pennsylvania 1976[1] |
| Headquarters | 1000 Park Drive, Lawrence, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | E.C Sykes (CEO) |
| Products | Digital Signage KVM switches Network Management Network Security Datacenter WAN Optimization Cabinets & Racks Cables Carts & Storage Cooling Solutions Datacom Premises Security Video & Multimedia Voice Communications |
| Revenue |  US$992M (FY 2015)[2] |
| US$28.574M (FY 2015)[2] | |
| US$15.3M (FY 2015)[2] | |
| Total assets |  US$686M (FY 2015)[3] |
| Total equity | US$337M (FY 2015)[3] |
Number of employees | 4,300 |
| Website | www |
Black Box Corporation, d/b/a Black Box Network Services, a leading technology solutions provider dedicated to helping customers build, manage, optimize, and secure their IT infrastructure. Black Box delivers high value products and services through its global presence and over 4,000 team members. The Company is the world’s largest independent provider of integrated IT and telecommunications network products and solutions. The Company delivers state-of-the-art products and world-class infrastructure capabilities for data, voice, and converged communications networks to more than 175,000 customers worldwide. Through its strategic partnerships with key technology providers, Black Box has the resources to provide objective and incomparable solutions and services to its diverse client base to increase each client’s return on his or her investment.
History
Black Box Corporation (NASDAQ: BBOX) was founded by E.R. Yost and Richard Raub in 1976 as Expandor, Incorporated. Their original vision was to create a:
“central reliable source for hard-to-find products and technical skill.”
Initially, the Company was a product catalog business that sold connectivity devices—the “little black boxes” that clients needed to connect their primary data communications products. One year later, the first Black Box® Catalog rolled off the presses with six pages and nine products; it generated $170,000 in sales. Today, Black Box has grown to a $1 billion IT services and technology solutions provider through organic growth and strategic acquisitions.
With the success of its catalog, Expandor became known internationally for high-quality products and began establishing global partnerships to increase market penetration. In 1982, in acknowledgement of its globally recognized, premier product, Expandor changed its name to Black Box.
During the 1980s, Black Box continued to develop leading-edge products. From cables and cabinets to racks and routers, the Black Box portfolio expanded to meet the needs of the fast-paced, dynamic IT and telecommunications industries. The Company became known for anticipating trends and its clients’ needs, and solidified its role as a technology leader.
On December 24, 1992, Black Box went public, trading as BBOX. The initial public offering marked the start of historically solid financial performance with strong operating profits, and the delivery of value to Black Box shareholders through consistent returns.
As the 20th century came to a close, Black Box expanded its portfolio to include on-site data and infrastructure services domestically, in Europe, and the Pacific Rim. In 2000, these on-site amenities grew to include communication system integration capabilities. To support these efforts, Black Box formed strategic partnerships with key technology providers. The Company grew through organic growth and acquisitions—facilitating its ability to offer best-of-breed, hybrid solutions to clients in need of design, implementation, and support services. Notable acquisitions included Nextira One Federal, Nu-Vision Technologies, and Mutual Telecom Services which greatly enhanced the Company’s ability to serve the IT needs of top federal government agencies. Additionally, Logos Communications, which now serves as the cornerstone of the Company’s Cisco Solutions practice, and InnerWireless help to make Black Box a leader in the Distributed Antenna System (DAS) market.
At Black Box, more than 4,000 team members—including 2,500 engineers and technical resources— deliver expertise and knowledge inherent in a globally-recognized industry leader with the familiarity and understanding of a local partner. Black Box’s capacity to respond to market trends and its exceptional 24/7/365 customer support, places the Company ahead of its competition with both its products and services. As IT and communications technology rapidly evolves, the Company’s robust portfolio of solutions will continue to drive success for its global clients well into the future.
Offices and Locations
Black Box is headquartered in the Pittsburgh suburb of Lawrence, Pennsylvania (USA). The Company has over 200 offices worldwide, and operates in 150 countries. Black Box also operates customer support centers throughout the United States, and can be found universally on the World Wide Web at www.blackbox.com
Industries
Black Box’s solutions and services support a broad range of industries including: healthcare, manufacturing, education, corporate services, finance, hospitality, technology, transportation, energy, and retail. In addition, Black Box is heavily engaged in the design, installation, support, and maintenance of complex government data and communications systems at all levels of local, state, and federal government. The Company’s products and services are flexible, scalable, and can be incorporated into any industry interested in optimizing real-time communications with a return on investment.
Products and Services
Black Box operates within a vendor-neutral, but vendor-connected business model that keeps the Company—and its customers—at the forefront of innovation. Accessing resources from multiple partners, and drawing on our own strong product portfolio, allows Black Box to offer the right combination of the exact products and solutions needed to meet each customer’s unique requirements.
IT Services
Black Box’s primary areas of expertise include IT Services in the areas of unified communications and collaboration (UCC), wired and wireless networking infrastructure and managed services. Over the last 35 years, the Company has perfected a collection of best practices, tools, and approaches for designing, implementing, maintaining and operating network technologies, and paired it up with proven project delivery methodology for delivering network services and advanced applications. Black Box manages each step of a project—from initiation to on-going Day 2 support services—with speed, precision, and focus on business outcomes for the client. The process ensures that the client engagement is not only smooth, but also a positive partnering and collaborative experience.
Solutions
With the largest footprint in the industry, Black Box offers clients an unmatched portfolio of IT communications and infrastructure solutions from the world’s leading manufacturers. Black Box sells, installs, and maintains communications solutions, such as the latest in unified communications, contact center, network, and traditional system integration. Customers can also choose from a comprehensive services portfolio that includes system maintenance plans and remote monitoring services.
· Unified Communications and Collaboration
· Audio, Video Services, and Web Collaboration
· Wireless
Products
Black Box offers essential products to maintain IT and telecommunications infrastructure, including cables, cabinets, racks, digital signage, KVM, networking, multimedia and more—all backed with the industry’s best warranties and responsive and free live technical support 24/7.
In addition to offering products on-line and through the Company’s catalog, Black Box products can be purchased conveniently through a broad range of qualified distributors and resellers located around the globe.
· IT Infrastructure
· AV, Multimedia, and Digital Signage
Awards and Recognition
Black Box consistently receives awards and recognition for its products, services, and innovative IT solutions. In addition to being recognized as one of the “Best Small Companies” by Business Week in 2002, Black Box has recurrently won awards for customer service, data center excellence, top technology innovation, best IT infrastructure, and products of the year. Infoweek 500 placed Black Box on its Top Technology Innovators List, and in 2014, the Company won InfoTECH’s Data Center Excellence Award. Black Box received Cisco’s Customer Satisfaction Excellence Award, ShoreTel’s Outstanding Achievement and Circle or Excellence awards, MCM’s Multichannel Merchant Gold Award, the Supplier of the Year Award from Day & Zimmerman, and the Channel Partners 360o Award for best-in-class solutions. In addition, its catalog is regularly rated as being best in the business.
Vision for Future
Black Box Network Services continues to forge strong collaborative relationships with clients to deliver industry-changing technologies and customer-centric solutions. Its strategic network of technology partners, the expertise and dedication of its 2,500 field technicians, and its portfolio of leading-edge products and services position the Company as a resource to help clients address their immediate needs and surpass their business goals. Black Box remains committed to anticipating industry trends, developing appropriate solutions, and delivering outstanding service and support to its customers.
References
- Google Finance Current Nasdaq Information
- Nashville Business Journal - 4:22 pm CDT Wednesday, April 25, 2007 - Black Box call center opens in Murfreesboro
