Post job

Black Box company history timeline

1977

When the first Black Box Catalogue rolled off the presses in early 1977, it had just 6 pages, containing 9 products and it generated $170,000 in sales.

Black Box Corporation is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA and was co-founded by Gene Yost and Dick Raub in 1977.

1982

The company was founded as Expandor, Inc. by Eugene Yost and Richard "Dick" Raub, and offered printer switches popularly called "black boxes". It published a popular "Black Box Catalog" which was the basis of changing its name to Black Box Corporation in 1982.

1986

Black Box Network Services Belgium was set up in 1986 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Box Corporation based in Pittsburgh, USA. The Black Box Belgian office is situated in Zaventem (near Brussels).

1989

A proposed sale was met with a lawsuit, although the Interlan division was sold to Racal in 1989.

1990

^ John Mederis (July 24, 1990). "Black Box Buyout Fails to Work Magic: Technology: The company loses $34 million on sales of $107 million despite layoffs". Los Angeles Times.

By 1990, following Black Box's reorganization, the catalogue business had developed into a thriving enterprise, and the company moved its headquarters from Simi Valley, California, to its main facility in Lawrenceville, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1992

^ James F. Peltz (December 8, 1992). "Micom in New Wall Street Bid : Stock: Computer interlink maker opens third attempt to sell securities to the public to reduce its debt burden". Los Angeles Times.

1994

Black Box became a stand-alone company in 1994 when the company distributed all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Micom Communications Corp. to all holders of the company's outstanding common stock who held shares on the date of distribution.

1995

The company began listing its products and services on the Internet in 1995.

1996

Baldwin, Tom. "Black boxes Built to Survive Doom." Journal of Commerce and Commercial, July 29, 1996, p. lB.

Another public offering in September 1996 created a marketplace for Odyssey stock, owners of 49 percent of the company at that time.

In 1996 they offered over 6,000 products in 77 countries, through catalogue and other distribution sources, targeting business professionals, purchasing agents and resellers who make computer design decisions.

Black Box tripled the number of new products introduced from the previous year to more than 1,000 in 1996, and increased the circulation of its specifically-targeted publications.

Japanese revenues increased by 59 percent in fiscal 1996, and 30 percent in the U.K. International revenues increased overall by 32 percent.

1997

In May 1997 the Black Box board of directors announced that it authorized management to buy back the company's stock, depending on market prices and other factors.

1998

Their long-term debt was reduced to $41.1 million, and New York analysts from Southcoast Capital Corporation predict that the company should be debt-free early in calendar 1998.

2002

"Flight-Data Recorders: Orange Is Good, Black Is Bad." EDN Access.http:www.e-insite.net/ednmag/contents/images/178107.pdf (accessed on July 22, 2002).

2007

18th, 2007, Black Box's Board of Directors appointed Terry Blakemore as its President and Chief Executive Officer.

2019

In January 2019, AGC Networks acquired Black Box Corporation, making Black Box a wholly owned subsidiary of AGC. Black Box continues to operate as a worldwide telecommunications provider independently.

2021

"Black Box ." CDs, Super Glue, and Salsa: How Everyday Products Are Made: Series 3. . Retrieved April 15, 2021 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/culture-magazines/black-box

"black box ." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. . Retrieved April 15, 2021 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/black-box

Work at Black Box?
Share your experience
Founded
1976
Company founded
Headquarters
Lawrence, PA
Company headquarter
Founders
Livia Tortella,Paul Ward
Company founders
Get updates for jobs and news

Rate Black Box's efforts to communicate its history to employees.

Zippia waving zebra

Black Box jobs

Do you work at Black Box?

Is Black Box's vision a big part of strategic planning?

Black Box competitors

Company nameFounded dateRevenueEmployee sizeJob openings
Belden1902$2.5B8,10043
NextiraOne Solutions LLC1996$30.5M900-
Data Center1963$37.5M2006
CH Reynolds1983$51.1M130-
QuTech1989$13.0M100-
OneNeck IT Solutions1993$46.0M230-
Spencer Technologies1972$21.4M450-
Redapt1996$238.1M756
SunTel Services1986$4.8M57-
EMW1995$17.5M100-

Black Box history FAQs

Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Black Box, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Black Box. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Black Box. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Black Box. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Black Box and its employees or that of Zippia.

Black Box may also be known as or be related to BLACK BOX CORP, BLACK BOX INC, Black Box, Black Box Corporation, Black Box Network Services and Black box.