Q & A
Ian Wilkie of Brand-Rex
Building a brand
Brand-Rex is a name synonymous with the network cabling industry and has been delivering network infrastructure solutions for over 40 years . NCN chats to managing director Ian Wilkie about becoming part of Leviton ’ s Network Solutions division and future plans for the company .
Brand-Rex has recently become part of the Leviton Group – what does this mean for the future of the company ?
Brand-Rex Limited is now part of Leviton ’ s Network Solutions division and we provide a significant footprint enhancement for Leviton in Europe , creating a business with significant global reach .
Becoming part of Leviton means that Brand-Rex is now part of a larger organisation that is as passionate about the industry as we have always been , and which shares the same core values that Brand-Rex has demonstrated during its lifetime .
Over time , our customers will have access to a wider range of cables and connectivity from Leviton that will address the specific needs of a variety of market sectors . Brand-Rex will continue to manufacture cables in the UK while Leviton ’ s US connectivity systems will provide a proven platform that further positions us as an industry leader .
Will the new partnership offer benefits for the customer ?
The complementary product portfolios , skills sets and geographical reach of the two companies offer unique advantages to our existing customer bases and present a powerful value proposition for potential new customers .
Increasingly , a significant number of global , multi-national companies are asking for global support and we can now deliver that support with a high quality solution set . In some countries , it is now a prerequisite that end-to-end cabling systems have a European and US country of origin , with adherence to quality and performance standards . These customers get that with Leviton and Brand-Rex , and they have access to a broader set of services and solutions with local support worldwide
Brand-Rex becoming part of Leviton creates a fully integrated organisation with a full manufacturing capability for copper and fibre cable , components and connectivity . The newly combined strength of our engineering and high quality manufacturing capabilities positions us strongly to be a leader in the development of global network infrastructure solutions for the future .
What are Brand-Rex ’ s long term goals ?
Our primary focus remains to support our customers , who have been extremely loyal to us for many years . Our customers want only the best products , solutions and service and we are now in an even stronger position to meet these needs . We will continue to innovate , building the solutions that will handle the high bandwidth networks of the future , while working on ways to integrate our solutions with Leviton technology . By providing our customers with the best , we help position them as stronger and more successful companies .
Will the company look more towards fibre solutions as the market matures ?
We have always had a strong focus on delivering superior fibre solutions and this will continue in the years ahead .
Our industry is one of the most exciting and rapidly changing environments around the world . We should all be proud to be involved in provision of network solutions that are revolutionising every aspect of our lives . Indeed , I believe the data revolution will be viewed by future historians in the same way as we look back at the industrial revolution today . Whilst advances in signal processing have allowed copper cabling systems to deliver more than anybody ever believed possible , fibre is playing an increasingly important role , particularly in data centres .
As BSRIA notes in its most recent report , the global structured cabling market has a relatively stable ratio of copper 74 per cent and fibre at 26 per cent . Each country has its own dynamics for copper to fibre ratios , usually based on historic legacy . When looking at one of our vertical markets , data centres , we see a ratio where fibre accounts for more than 60 per cent of the mix .
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