I recently spoke with Ryan Prentice, Managing Partner of Cleerline Technology Group to talk about the company’s background, joining HTSA, and what sets them apart from the competition. Part 1
Maureen Jenson: For those TIG readers that aren’t familiar with your company, please tell them about Cleerline. What’s the company’s background?
Ryan Prentice: Cleerline Technology Group is an affiliate of D’Addario & Co. In 2004, Robert D’Addario started exploring how D’Addario & Co. could expand their innovative Planet Waves CableStation™ coaxial cabling system. This led to the 2005 launch of Planet Waves Custom Installation at the CEDIA Expo.
During the mid-to-late 2000s, Planet Waves Custom Installation established itself as a leader in connectivity solutions for the residential custom A/V installer. The product mix evolved to include groundbreaking coax solutions built upon the original CableStation product, HDMI solutions, and speaker connectors. These parts and components were all built with the goal of making the installer’s job easier, more efficient, and more reliable.
However, by 2008, with the global recession in full swing, Planet Waves Custom Installation needed to creatively approach a distressed custom installation marketplace.
In 2009 Planet Waves established a strategic relationship with Custom Install Supply headquartered in Missoula, Montana.
Custom Install Supply began in the mid-2000s to supply and manage small parts for the custom installation market. The two principals, myself and Rick Sant, come from a long line of successful integration companies in the Pacific Northwest.
During our years in the installation business, we’ve realized one of our biggest hurdles, ensuring a $5 part would not hold up a six-figure project. Utilizing our experience as a cornerstone, we built Custom Install Supply. Partnership with Custom Install Supply provided Planet Waves with new insight into the on-the-ground needs of integrators and gave rise to PWCIS.
MJ: How did your famous fiber optic cables start?
RP: The team at PWCIS knew success hinged on looking forward. We turned our attention to the next phase in connectivity: fiber optics.
It was clear fiber optic cabling presented challenges to the coming wave of system integrators and installers. Residential installers did not have the time to get up to speed on fiber optics. It was also clear that copper solutions were starting to hit the ceiling of usable bandwidth for high-definition video transmission, and the required bandwidth for a home network would only increase in the coming years. Fiber was the future of connectivity, so PWCIS looked to provide the solution.
The goal was to create a fiber solution that could be pulled and handled like category cable and be as easy (if not easier) to terminate compared to Cat5 or Cat6 RJ45 connections. The result is Cleerline Technology Group’s SSF™ product.
With the development of a proprietary GGP (glass, glass, polymer) fiber, Cleerline Technology Group was established in 2012 as a new company via the merger of Planet Waves Custom Installation and Custom Install Supply.
Today, Cleerline SSF fiber optic cabling and components provide simple, end-to-end solutions for residential and commercial installations: From unique fiber optic cable to connectors, termination tools, enclosures and more, Cleerline is Fiber Optics Redefined!
MJ: You recently joined HTSA as a vendor partner.
RP: Cleerline believes that HTSA brings some of the very best residential dealers in the U.S. to a unique and focused group. Getting our message out to top tier dealers and thought leaders is important. Having a focused group of dealers that will embrace the technology is a win-win for everyone.
MJ: Tell our readers about your product lines. What sets Cleerline apart from the competition?
RP: Cleerline SSF fiber optic products have made the transition from traditional copper installations to fiber optics much easier to navigate. SSF is Stronger, Safer, Faster. The construction of our glass makes Cleerline SSF Fiber Optic Cables stronger and more forgiving under the stress of bending and during installation.
Cleerline SSF fiber optics are safer to handle due to our incorporated polymer coating which eliminates the risk of glass shards puncturing soft tissue while terminating. It’s faster to terminate compared to traditional fiber optics in the market. This is a result of our Glass, Glass, Polymer technology, which reduces the amount of steps required to prepare a cable for a termination.
Stay tuned for next week, when Ryan discusses more Cleerline products, COVID-19 and dealer support! Part Two here.