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GhostCorp Apparel - resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

Start the day with a reminder of ADC Telecommunications and its remarkable path through communications history. Founded in Minneapolis in 1935, the company began with hearing-related equipment and audio work before entering telephone components, patching hardware and test equipment. Later acquisitions broadened its reach into data, fiber and connectivity. This ceramic coffee mug makes a considered gift for collectors, former industry professionals and technology enthusiasts who appreciate how a local company's work became part of a much larger network story.

ADC Telecommunications began in 1935 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, founded by Ralph Allison and Walter Lehnert. Its early work included hearing aids and audiometers; in 1945, it began selling audiometers under its own name. Audio equipment designed for the University of Minnesota by 1942 led to jacks, plugs, patch cords and jackfields that later supported its move into telecommunications. After selling its audiometer line in 1949, ADC diversified into transformers, filters and telephone components. A 1961 merger with Magnetic Controls Company created ADC Magnetic Controls. Its bantam jack became a notable compact component for telephone circuit access and patching. In the 1970s, ADC expanded into prewired jackfields, wired assemblies and test equipment, becoming the largest independent U.S. supplier of test boards by 1976. Following U.S. telecommunications deregulation in 1983, it supplied the newly independent regional carriers. Acquisitions in the 1990s and 2000s broadened its data, fiber and connectivity businesses. Tyco Electronics agreed to acquire ADC in July 2010; TE Connectivity completed the acquisition on December 9, 2010, ending ADC's existence as a separate company. In 2015, CommScope acquired TE Connectivity's Broadband Network Solutions business, which included the former ADC business.