MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 30 -- In a move to become a bigger supplier in the fiber optic solutions global market, ADC has created an Advanced Photonics Integration Center to develop made to order, integrated and fully-packaged photonics solutions for OEMs and other customers. The center will be located at the company's headquarters in Minneapolis. The company's fiber optics resources, especially optical components, will be at the disposal of the new center. ADC has already dispatched a team of engineers and product managers, with an additional 40 to 50 employees anticipated by next year, to work at the center. With five fiber-optic acquisitions in the last six years, including the purchases of Altitun and IBSEN Micro Structures in 2000, ADC has the critical mass to provide a broad range of active and passive optical components and modules and to develop innovative photonic technologies in-house, said Rick Masloski, vice president and general manager of ADC's Fiber Optics Division. We believe the Center will leverage our strengths in innovative optical technologies and manufacturing processes.