BDC

Belden Inc.

A maker of networking, cabling, and connectivity gear that keeps data centers, smart buildings, broadband networks, and factories talking to each other. Its two businesses — Smart Infrastructure Solutions and Automation Solutions — sell copper and fiber systems, racks, power management, and digitization products through distributors, installers, and equipment makers. Belden was founded in 1902 in Chicago when a young purchasing agent, tired of hunting for quality silk-wrapped magnet wire for telephone switchboards, decided to make his own; in 1910 it introduced "Beldenamel," an enamel wire insulation that became an industry standard.