Tukwila, WA - The Light Brigade, Inc., proudly announced celebration of the company's 20th anniversary as the leading provider of fiber-optic training in North America.
The Light Brigade was founded in September 1986 by Larry Johnson, who wanted to provide the growing number of fiber-optic users in the Pacific Northwest with expertise in fiber-optic technology. In 1987, the company won their first contract through the State of Washington's Department of Transportation to develop a comprehensive training course that focused on the state's desire to design, install, test, and maintain fiber-optic communications systems for voice, video, and data transmission.
The following year, The Light Brigade was selected by Microsoft to design the fiber-optic physical plant of their new campus in Redmond, Washington. Over the next three years, TLB's staff completely rebuilt the communications infrastructure for Microsoft. At completion of the project, TLB had installed 14,000 fiber links and trained Microsoft's facilities group to handle the day-to-day operations.
Since that time, the company's focus has shifted away from consulting and performing installations and, armed with the valuable knowledge gained from those projects, concentrated on providing the best in fiber-optic training. In 1996 TLB was awarded a Fast 50 award by Deloitte and Touche for being one of the top 50 fastest growing technical companies in the State of Washington.
Over the years, TLB has trained over 30,000 people in courses covering the entire spectrum of fiber-optic subjects, from basic theory to in-depth focuses on specialized topics. The company has also hosted a wide array of events at industry conferences, including fiber-optic video theaters, emergency restoration demonstrations, training courses, and topical resource centers. The company's multimedia training has won a variety of awards, including multiple "Attendee's Choice Awards" by attendees of the annual Optical Fiber Conference.
The company has produced seven DVDs, 25 videos and CDs, and one computer-based training module. In addition, TLB has produced an equal amount of custom videos for clients including Alcatel, Agilent Technologies, Lucent Technologies and the Optical Society of America. The company continues to be active in international fiber-optic industry events, hosting and coordinating a wide array of conference training workshops and educational resource centers.
