It is a milestone month around here. Clearfield celebrated its 10th anniversary on January 2nd. And, as if that is not enough, we are also celebrating the shipment of our 20 millionth terminated fiber port this month.
Those are big numbers to wrap your brain around. Twenty million is huge, to be sure. But, 10 is just as big of a number when you consider where we started.
Clearfield completely reinvented itself in 2008. For 20 years before that, there were various structures and entities, but no strategic direction upon which to build. I was named CEO in mid 2007 and went to work with a new name and more importantly a new approach – focusing on a subsidiary operation that had suffered from a lack of attention and investment.
In short order, we turned this ship around and became a profitable entity. Through consistent investment in new product development, sales and market initiatives, and sound operational strategies, Clearfield today is a leading provider of distribution and management products for the fiber access network. We’ve completed 10 consecutive years of profitability -- posting gains in both the market capitalization and shareholder equity.
If it sounds like I’m bragging, I am. I am bragging about an unrivaled team of professionals who have poured their hearts, smarts, and conviction into building this business.
I keep going back to our company values: Listen; Recognize; Understand; Collaborate; Deliver; and Celebrate. Someone once laughingly asked if I was going to get those words etched in stone. I don’t have to… because they are etched on each and every one of us here.
For ten years, we’ve listened, recognized, understood, collaborated and delivered.
And now, we celebrate.