Program assures performance and reliability for mission-critical industrial control and information communication.

ST. LOUIS--Belden Inc. (NYSE: BDC), a global leader in signal transmission solutions for mission-critical applications, today announced it will partner with industrial network solution providers to launch a program to design, install, configure and test companies' new or expanded industrial Ethernet infrastructures. The program will include certification of their performance and reliability using Belden's demanding standards and best practices as a benchmark.

"Customers require control and information to be communicated reliably and securely throughout their industrial application spaces," said Steve Biegacki, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Belden. "By combining our experts at Hirschmann, GarrettCom, Tofino Security and Belden with the experts at our integrators, we are able to certify customers' networks and give them peace-of-mind that their system will perform exactly as designed."

"We also recognize that our customers need to continuously change, upgrade and expand their networks, often using only internal resources," noted Biegacki. To address this need, Belden offers expansion guidelines and access to network design experts for moderate adjustments or updates, as well as more robust services for significant changes.

"Belden pioneered a similar program for enterprise applications and has been running it successfully for several years. It only makes sense to provide the same value for our customers in industrial markets," said Biegacki.

Belden's one-of-a-kind industrial Ethernet infrastructure certification program will validate that network infrastructures are built to the highest standards with the ability to evolve to meet customers' ever-changing needs. Whether a customer is looking to start from scratch with a new network infrastructure or make significant updates or expansions to their existing system, Belden's process provides for a seamless step-by-step approach.

First, integrators trained and tested by Belden's network design experts create a custom infrastructure design for the customer. Then, Belden experts work together with the integrator to identify, discuss and resolve areas of potential risk. The design is implemented once it is finalized.

After installation and testing, Belden and the integrator review the project and test data. Then, the final certification will be issued, along with extended warranties, expansion guidance and access to expedited support. The certification team also maintains key documentation and test data to improve support effectiveness and assist with future enhancements or changes.

For more information on the certification program, visit www.Belden.com.

About Belden
St. Louis-based Belden Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets cable, connectivity, and networking products in markets including industrial automation, enterprise, transportation, infrastructure, and consumer electronics. It has approximately 7,600 employees, and provides value for industrial automation, enterprise, education, healthcare, entertainment and broadcast, sound and security, transportation, infrastructure, consumer electronics and other industries. Belden has manufacturing capabilities in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, and a market presence in nearly every region of the world. Belden was founded in 1902, and today is a leader with some of the strongest brands in the signal transmission industry. For more information, visit www.belden.com.