InUse’s ilean solution is an industrial agentic AI assistant that helps industrial and technical field teams manage tasks and meet high customer expectations.

Belden Inc. (NYSE: BDC), a leading global provider of complete connection solutions, today announced that the ilean solution from InUse has been named the winner of the second annual Joseph C. Belden Innovation Award. The industrial agentic AI helps industrial and technical field teams manage tasks and meet high customer expectations to reduce downtime, improve efficiency and cut operational costs.

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From left to right: Martin Van Der Burgt, Vice President, R&D - Data Acquisition and Transmission Products, Belden Inc., Laurent Couillard, Founder & CEO at InUse, Ashish Chand, President and CEO, Belden Inc.

The award is named after Belden’s founder, Joseph C. Belden. His innovative spirit and patents helped the company become an early telecommunications leader, laying the foundation for Belden’s modern-day portfolio of complete connection solutions. The Joseph C. Belden Innovation Award shines a spotlight on innovations that power the future in industries such as healthcare, manufacturing and telecommunications.

This year’s winning product, ilean, is a secure, intelligent digital agent developed by InUse. It uses advanced retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) technology to ensure high performance and strict data confidentiality. It saves valuable time for field members by helping them simplify onboarding for new team members, quickly diagnose problems to reduce downtime and create service reports that are well-structured and immediately actionable. To learn more about the winning solution, visit InUse’s website.

InUse was presented with the award on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, during the second annual Joseph C. Belden Innovation Summit. The event showcased innovation with presentations and panel discussions highlighting the technology featured in each of the three finalists’ submissions.

“We are honored to receive the Joseph C. Belden Innovation Award,” said Laurent Couillard, CEO and co-founder of InUse. “This recognition highlights the transformative role of our AI agent, ilean. Operational teams need intelligent tools to act faster and make confident decisions. Belden’s support strengthens our commitment to making generative AI not a passing trend, but a true lever to overcome the silver tsunami we are beginning to face — enabling lasting operational change and delivering measurable impact.”

The industry judges who evaluated this year’s submissions noted that the ilean solution takes a unique approach to applying AI to information flow and decision-making, offering significant improvement in availability and productivity in industries that need it most.

“Congratulations to InUse on receiving this outstanding recognition,” says Dr. Ashish Chand, Belden President and CEO. “The ilean solution from InUse stands to transform the industry by helping mission-critical teams unlock the power of generative AI and turn industrial challenges into growth opportunities. The company’s dedication to innovation through reducing downtime, automating access to vital information and democratizing expertise truly reflects the innovative spirit of Joseph C. Belden.”

The two other award finalists were Corero, which submitted SmartWall ONE™, its always-on modular DDoS protection solution platform for on-premises and hybrid cloud defense; and HGS CX, which submitted HGS Video AI, a workplace safety solution that assesses potential safety violations and supports proper ergonomic behavior between people and machines.

These finalists were chosen by a panel of industry expert judges who reviewed a highly competitive field of submissions. Entries were evaluated on criteria such as level of innovation, business value and sustainability impact.

To learn more about the Joseph C. Belden Innovation Award, visit belden.com/innovation-award.

About Belden

Belden Inc. delivers complete connection solutions that unlock untold possibilities for our customers, their customers and the world. We advance ideas and technologies that enable a safer, smarter and more prosperous future. Throughout our 120+ year history we have evolved as a company, but our purpose remains – making connections. By connecting people, information and ideas, we make it possible. We are headquartered in St. Louis and have manufacturing capabilities in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. For more information, visit us at www.belden.com; follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and X/Twitter.

Belden and the Belden logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Belden Inc. or its affiliated companies in the United States and other jurisdictions. Belden and other parties may also have trademark rights in other terms used herein.

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