Inside the JECIC: Where Ideas Become Solutions

Tom Kelly on the place where Panduit tests, refines, and proves what reaches the field

An engineer breaks into a grin across the lab bench. The team leans in toward the prototype they’ve been developing, testing, and reworking. Something just clicked. The part performed the way it needed to. The idea held.

That moment matters at Panduit, but it is not the finish line. It is the point where a concept starts facing harder questions. Can it hold up under pressure? Can it be installed the way customers need it installed?

Those questions get answered inside the Jack E. Caveney Innovation Center, or JECIC. In our first two conversations, Panduit Chief Technology Officer Tom Kelly explained why Panduit keeps investing in innovation and how ideas move into the funnel. This time, he talks about the place where those ideas are built, tested, refined, and proven before they reach the field.

Panduit: We’ve heard JECIC (Jack E. Caveney Innovation Center) described as a “science fair on steroids.” What is the strategic advantage of having that resource for your engineers?

Tom Kelly: The JECIC is where our engineering and research and development teams reside. It’s named after the founder of our company, who was a prolific innovator. The investment we made there was targeted at honoring our legacy of innovation. That has always been a key part of the company and a key part of our value proposition.

We invested in the lab space. We invested in prototyping capability. We invested in the people who can take an idea and start turning it into something real. That’s one of the fundamental ways we promote that innovative spirit.

Panduit: So, this is not there to impress visitors?

Tom Kelly: Exactly. When people hear “innovation center,” they may picture a display. That’s not what this is. This is where teams are solving problems. If we’re going to say innovation matters at Panduit, this is one of the places where you can actually see what that means.

What Happens Inside the Labs

Panduit’s 18 specialized labs give teams a way to work across disciplines. That matters because infrastructure problems do not stay neatly contained.

Panduit: What kinds of capabilities inside the JECIC make that possible?

Tom Kelly: One of the biggest strengths of the center is breadth. We have 18 specialized labs under one roof. That means we can look at a problem from multiple angles without losing momentum.

You’ve got fiber and optical work happening there. You’ve got electronics work. You’ve got thermal work, which matters more and more as power density keeps rising. You’ve got materials work. You’ve got mechanical testing. Then you’ve got the prototyping side of it, which helps the team move quickly from a design to a physical part.

That setup matters because customer problems rarely stay in one lane. A connectivity issue may also be a thermal issue. A power challenge may affect enclosure design. When those capabilities are close together, the team can move faster and make better decisions.

Panduit: So the advantage isn’t just the number of labs. It's how they work together?

Tom Kelly: That’s right. The center gives us a way to bring multiple disciplines to the same challenge. That helps us test more thoroughly, and it helps us get to a better answer.

Why In-House Prototyping Changes the Pace

The JECIC shortens the timeline between concept and feedback. That gives Panduit a practical edge when ideas are still taking shape.

Panduit: How does having prototyping and testing in-house affect development?

Tom Kelly: We have a full-service prototyping and tool room facility located on premise. That has been a very good resource for us. It lets engineers move from a design into a prototype quickly.

That speed matters. You find out how it performed and what the customer wants changed. Being so vertically integrated is a big advantage because we can move quickly through that prototyping phase and into some pilot production.

Panduit: What does that change across the broader portfolio?

Tom Kelly: A concept can sound great in a meeting. It’s different when someone has to install it. It’s different when it has to perform in a real application. The faster you can get to that moment, the faster you learn whether you’re solving the right problem in the right way.

Where Claims Turn Into Proof

The JECIC matters most when customer pressure changes fast. Power, cooling, density, and safety are forcing new engineering decisions now.

Panduit: What kinds of challenges are teams using the JECIC to work through right now?

Tom Kelly: As I mentioned in our last discussion, a lot of the themes come back to the same pressures our customers are dealing with. Power is one. Cooling is another. Density is a big theme. Safety is another. You see that in electrical. You see it in the data center space. You see it in connectivity.

As bandwidth goes up, you need more connectivity in smaller spaces. As power density goes up, cooling becomes more important. Those aren’t abstract themes. They have a direct effect on what customers need from us.

Panduit: Are customers actually coming into the lab and innovating with you?

Tom Kelly: Frequently. The labs are where we move from claims to proof. It gives our customers confidence. We aren’t just talking about how our solutions will perform in an AI data center; we are inviting customers to watch us validate that performance in real-time. That level of transparency builds a different kind of trust.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of our Innovation blog series with Tom Kelly:

• Part 1-"What Innovation in Our DNA Actually Means in the Field”
• Part 2-“How Innovation Happens at Panduit”

In our next blog series, we’ll look at the people behind the work and how the Panduit engineering culture keeps innovation moving.