AFL Introduces New Wall Mount Enclosures

AFL is launching two new wall mount interconnect enclosures (WME), providing a convergence point for interconnecting and / or splicing in wall mount applications. With capabilities of 12 to 24 fiber patch and splice densities, the enclosures are provisioned for up to two LGX® compatible adapter plates or optical modules. The modular design is fully compatible with PoliMOD products and XFM optical cassettes.

One of the most distinguishing features is the well-engineered solution for fiber and cable management on both the ingress and egress openings of the enclosure. The u-shaped cable entry eliminates the need to feed pre-connectorized cables through an inconvenient access port. The robust steel construction provides the highest level of protection for sensitive components while integrated roll-formed hinges eliminate possible fiber pinch points when deploying or servicing components.

All WME series enclosures feature discrete access doors for provider and customer access which are independently lockable with a common pad-lock or tube-style keyed lock. Ideal for co-locations sites, customer premise, hub and OTN sites, telecommunications closets, and campus / enterprise environments.

The new wall mount interconnect enclosures are available immediately. For additional information, visit www.AFLtele.com.

AFL Opens New Fiber Optic Facility in UK

AFL today announced it is opening a second fiber optic facility to support the European region with customized optical fiber interconnect cables used for communication applications. The new facility is located in the Hawksworth Trading Estate. AFL expects to hire additional personnel to staff the new facility. “As fiber rich communication applications continue to grow, AFL will now be able to offer shorter lead times to our customers allowing us to be more responsive in the European market,” said Paul Thompson, Managing Director of AFL Europe. “In addition, the infrastructure and location of the town enables convenient transport and efficient international distribution.”

AFL’s Swindon facility manufactures and supplies fiber optic cable solutions and services throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This facility is home to the unique AFL SkyWrap® solution for wrapping fiber optic cable on existing power lines, and also MicroCore blown fiber cable for FTTH applications. AFL’s corporate headquarters is located in Spartanburg, South Carolina where fiber optic cable and conductor accessories are manufactured.

“We are delighted to be opening this new facility, ultimately creating 24 new jobs in the area,” said Margaret Harman, HR and EHS Manager at AFL. “AFL has a long and successful history of manufacturing in Europe, reflected in the decision to open a new facility here.”

Recruitment is underway to fill new positions. Production training will begin in mid-October. For more information about available job opportunities, please email jobs@afl-europe.com.

AFL Acquires Verrillon, Inc.

Company now offering specialty optical fibers in oil and gas, avionics, and industrial markets

AFL today announced it has agreed to acquire Verrillon, Inc., a leading manufacturer and supplier of specialty optical fibers in the oil and gas, avionics and industrial markets. This acquisition enhances AFL’s portfolio of fiber optic products, adding specialty optical fiber to its portfolio and further strengthening its position as a market leader of fiber optic solutions. In addition to reinforcing AFL’s leadership position in downhole fiber optic cable, this acquisition provides AFL access to other specialty fiber markets including industrial and sensing.

“At AFL, we were very impressed with Verrillon’s proven team, outstanding product set, and market traction,” stated Kurt Dallas, Vice President and General Manager, at AFL. “We know that the integration of Verrillon into AFL provides many synergies and growth opportunities globally.”

With manufacturing operations in North Grafton, Massachusetts, Verrillon specializes in designing and customizing specialized fibers for harsh environments including hermetic, high temperature, polarization-maintaining and rare-earth doped fibers.

“Verrillon and AFL offer complementary products to various markets. By bringing the two teams together, we are well positioned to take full advantage of the growing markets we serve while reinforcing our commitment to the industry and to our customers,” commented Dr. Abdel Soufiane, President and CEO of Verrillon. “We are proud to be part of a growing global company and look forward to collaborating on future projects.” With the close of the acquisition, Dr. Soufiane will remain with AFL as Managing Director and CTO.

AFL manufactures fiber optic cables and components in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the United Kingdom and Germany. Verrillon will continue to operate its current facility in Massachusetts. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

AFL Launches New Mid-Range Cleaver Series

Designed for single fiber and angled cleaves

AFL announces the launch of its new mid-range cleaver series, both providing high quality cleaving at an economical price. Compact and lightweight, both cleavers are ideal for field installations and mechanical splices.

The CT-10A series fiber cleaver is designed for cleaving single fibers only with average angles of 0.5 degrees. The rugged yet scaled-down design offers a simple, single-step operation and high precision cleaves. An optional scrap collector is available.

The CT-11A single fiber cleaver is specifically designed for angled cleaving applications. Supplied with a factory adjustment to the industry standard of eight degrees, the CT-11A has the ability to cleave up to nine degrees. Rugged and durable, this cleaver is ideal for FTTH installers and others working in harsh environments.

Both cleavers incorporate an easily replaceable blade and cleave 250µm and 900µm fibers. The CT-10A and CT-11A are easy to use, simple to adjust and extremely consistent. For additional information, visit www.AFLtele.com.

Fuller Center for Housing of Spartanburg Receives Fujikura Foundation Grant

$3,000 supports revitalization of homes in Spartanburg County

Members of AFL Telecommunications’ Fujikura Foundation committee presented a $3,000 grant to The Fuller Center for Housing of Spartanburg, an organization that repairs and renovates home of senior citizens and disabled residents. The grant will support the revitalization of three homes in the Spartanburg area, ultimately providing the opportunity for citizens to stay at home as long as possible.

AFL plans to further support the Fuller Center by sending out volunteers from the company to assist at a home in the Reidville area. Volunteers will gather over several weekends to provide assistance with home repairs and grounds work in the fall.

“We were struck by the Fuller’s Center commitment to help those in need – especially those who want to stay in their homes, who are able to stay in their homes, and just need a helping hand to make it a safer place to reside,” said Corie Culp, community relations manager for AFL. “AFL is honored to assist our community and to a program that aids those in need.”

In 2005, Millard and Linda Fuller launched The Fuller Center for Housing which is currently building and renovating homes in 17 countries and 57 communities in the United States. Its mission is to help the more than one billion people worldwide who live in poverty housing and the 100 million who are homeless.

For additional information on AFL Telecommunications and the Fujikura Foundation, visit www.AFLtele.com.

AFL Telecommunications Launches New Specialty Fusion Splicers

Innovative fiber fusion splicer first in company's ARCMaster™ product line

AFL Telecommunications is launching two new fiber optic fusion splicers: the FSM-100M and the FSM-100P for splicing polarization maintaining (PM) fibers. Both new specialty fiber fusion splicers offer a host of innovative technologies to address the rapidly expanding splicing needs for factory, manufacturing, laboratory, and R&D applications. The technologically superior splicing machines incorporate multiple pending patents.

"The 100M and 100P series splicers further position Fujikura as the dominant player in the specialty splicer market. We are proud to offer customers around the world splicing products that are adaptable for a variety of specialty splicing needs, reliable, and consistent in performance, while providing a real value," said Kiyoshi Nakajima, General Manager; Splicer Business at Fujikura. "This new family of splicers is being introduced as the "ARCMaster" series because of the unique capabilities to control the plasma zone of the fusion arc. These capabilities will revolutionize the way users splice various types of specialty fibers, including LDF, low contrast PM, and holey / micro-structured."

Fujikura's new "ARCMaster" splicers are engineered with a robust set of features that offer customers technology and reliability not available elsewhere:

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  Patented "split v-groove" clamping system – accommodates optical fiber ranges from 60µm to 2000µm for cladding or coating without changing v-grooves or fiber clamps.
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  Dual PM alignment technologies – Called IPA (Interrelation Profile Alignment), this new technology properly aligns and splices the increasing and technically challenging variety of PM fibers. The FSM-100P includes both traditional PAS alignment as well as the new IPA technology, providing users with the most comprehensive capabilities on the market for splicing PM fiber. IPA also enables accurate PER estimation for all PM fiber types.
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  "Plasma Zone" fiber positioning – "ARCMaster" splicers incorporate multiple fiber and electrode positioning techniques in order to provide unprecedented versatility for splicing LDF as well as heat sensitive or small diameter fibers.
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  Special arc calibration technology – facilitates an easy transfer of high end splicing applications from R&D to production by ensuring consistent performance and enables full exploitation of "Plasma Zone" capabilities.
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  Improved splice loss estimation technology – Combining the best features of both cold and warm splice imaging, these new generation splicers offer unprecedented accuracy for splice loss estimation.
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  Zero degree fiber holder position – For splicing LDF fibers with minimal core angle, the fiber holders are horizontally positioned relative to the v-grooves thus minimizing higher order modes in double clad fibers. LDF splicing performance is also enhanced by the capability to mount the fiber holders in reversed orientation.
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  Enhanced sweep arc technology – Increased travel range for "sweep arc" provides improved MFD matching capability and the ability for reshaping non-circular fibers in preparation for splicing.
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  Production friendly design – A low profile design that eliminates fiber catch points, the dimensions of both splicers are consistent with the most popular production splicing work-benches in use today.
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  Internet firmware updates – An industry first! Customers can now upgrade firmware as new capabilities become available from Fujikura. Upgrading is as simple as connecting a USB cable to your splicer.

The need for Accurate, Reliable, and Consistent splicing is expanding to new applications beyond telecommunications. Today splicing is used for fiber lasers, sensors, medical applications, and research and development. These new "ARCMaster" fusion splicers from Fujikura have been developed to provide the ultimate in performance and flexibility for a variety of customers and markets.

Additional information can be found at www.StateoftheARC.com. Stay tuned to www.StateoftheARC.com for forthcoming additions to the "ARCMaster" family of specialty fusion splicers where incremental capabilities, such as X-LDF splicing, will be announced.

Fujikura Europe Ltd Opens European Service Centre for AFL Noyes Test & Inspection Equipment

AFL Telecommunications and Fujikura Europe Ltd. today announced its new European Service Centre for AFL-Noyes fibre optic test and inspection equipment will open on 1 September 2010. Highly skilled technicians will be available to service, calibrate and repair the entire Noyes product line including, OTDRs, optical power meters and fiber identifiers.

"Both Fujikura Europe and AFL-Noyes have an exceptional track record of providing our customers with excellent service. Adding a repair facility in Europe is another way we are working to add value and to enhance our efforts to please our customers," said Max Penfold, Sales Director for AFL-Noyes. "This facility will provide a more convenient and efficient option for our customers that require quick-turnaround repairs."

Fujikura Europe Ltd. and AFL Telecommunications are sister companies and co-operate closely to ensure customers receive the highest levels of support for Fujikura fusion splicers and now Noyes test equipment. For further details, please contact service@fujikura.co.uk or call +44 (0) 208 240 2020.