Suttle sells FutureLink Fiber business to PPC Broadband

April 8, 2019
Communications Systems, Inc. (CSI; NASDAQ: JCS) says its wholly owned subsidiary Suttle, Inc. has sold its FutureLink Fiber business line to PPC Broadband Inc., a unit of Belden. PPC paid $5 million in cash for its new assets. CSI says it will use the money for general corporate purposes.

Communications Systems, Inc. (CSI; NASDAQ: JCS) says its wholly owned subsidiary Suttle, Inc. has sold its FutureLink Fiber business line to PPC Broadband Inc., a unit of Belden. PPC paid $5 million in cash for its new assets. CSI says it will use the money for general corporate purposes.

The FutureLink Fiber line includes modular and stackable enclosures, splitter modules, connectors/adapters, and fiber cables for the network edge and customer connections. Suttle will continue to manufacture products related to the FutureLink Fiber business line until September 30, 2019 as part of the acquisition agreement.

“As previously announced, we are shifting CSI’s corporate focus towards solutions for IoT and network edge management,” said Roger H.D. Lacey, CSI’s CEO, in explaining the asset sale. “We believe that the sale of Suttle’s FutureLink product line advances us towards that goal and signals our commitment to an organizational transformation designed to allow CSI to return to operating profitability in 2019.

“The FutureLinksuite of fiber solutions are proven dependable, flexible, and reliable,” Lacey continued. “However, these products are no longer strategically significant to our business model. The balance of Suttle’s component and solutions business, comprised principally of the MediaMAX product line, will continue to support key Tier 1 clients.”

CSI also is evaluating other restructuring options, including a potential sale of its corporate headquarters as well as new product development and what the company termed “targeted product rationalization.”

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About the Author

Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher

Stephen Hardy has covered fiber optics for more than 15 years, and communications and technology for more than 30 years. He is responsible for establishing and executing Lightwave's editorial strategy across its digital magazine, website, newsletters, research and other information products. He has won multiple awards for his writing.

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