APA Enterprises, APA Cables & Networks Announce new business structure, name

JANUARY 2, 2008 By Stephen Hardy -- APA Enterprises has combined its business operations with its wholly owned subsidiary, APA Cables & Networks (APACN). The company also has changed its name to Clearfield, Inc.

In a visit to Lightwave's offices late last year, President and CEO Cheri Beranek Podzimek said that when APA Enterprises sold its Optronics business in June of last year, that left APACN as its only subsidiary. The company decided to focus its efforts on APACN's niche -- fiber management and passive connectivity products sold primarily to independent telcos, particularly those interested in fiber to the home. Changing the company name should underscore this decision in the marketplace, she said. The company came up with Clearfield to indicate that the company has a clear and consistent vision for its products.

The recently introduced ClearView cassette product -- which can be adapted for multiple functions within the same cassette space (see description here) -- will be an early centerpiece of the ClearField product line. In addition to the new cassette line, the company will rebrand its cabinets and fiber access platforms under the FieldSmart name. It has also adopted the slogan "Ingenuity in Passive Connectivity."

Podzimek says the newly rededicated company hopes to build on APACN's previous success. The company has 75 FTTH customers in the U.S. independent telco community, out of a total of about 400 such FTTH deployments across the country, she says. Clearfield will cautiously begin international expansion this year, with Canada and Northern Europe the initial targets. The company also expects to announce some OEM partnerships this year, Podzimek added.

Clearfield stock will continue to be traded on Nasdaq, with the CLFD symbol. The company's new URL is www.ClearfieldConnection.com.