M&N Electronic Inc., also referred to as G.O.D Enterprises, provides hi-tech doors and material handling to the life sciences manufacturing industries of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The company’s president, Manuel De La Cruz, outlines M&N’s rapid growth since its inception in 2008 and future expansion opportunities.
How did M&N Electronic start, and what was the original mission?
We started in 2008 with a focus on service, trying to dedicate ourselves to the customer and resolve problems related to servicing doors and loading dock equipment in the pharmaceutical industry. Doors are our specialty; their installations are very critical here because of the nature of pharmaceutical production in Puerto Rico. Not everyone has access to such hi-tech doors. If a door is damaged, we need to be there to give the best. M&N Electronic Inc. started in my father’s house and we started with two technicians, we keep growing parallel to the demand of service. My father has been in this business for more than 25 years and is my mentor. As of 2015, M&N Electronic has 45 employees in our facility and we will continue to increase with the service and the sales with four executive sales reps, we have at the moment we count with services contracts. We are servicing Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, St. Thomas and St. Croix. We have a good team and suppliers.
When you became general manager, what were your main priorities?
I started as a technician when I was 17, graduated as a master electrician and am part of the American Association of Automatic Door Manufacturers (AAAD) , where my father was a supervisor. I have a sales team but we tried to change all of the focus to the client; we needed to be able to help the client to get a response in less than four hours, we tried to change everything by having a big group of technicians help customers have people in the plant to cover situations.
Have you diversified to other industries beyond pharmaceuticals?
We have some commercial areas that we service. Over the years, we have made some diversions. Now we service steel racks, as we started only with doors. We also do revolving doors now. We have some lines that we have create to increase the service to plants more.
What are the standard products and services you offer that the pharmaceutical industry really needs?
M&N Electronic offers doors with the most security and safety. In fact, our equipment is A+ in security. We have the best manufacturer reps in the US who help us. We are rapidly increasing sales of these products and we have the opportunity to sell good products. Now we have cleanroom doors, which are excellent for fast-acting if a customer has lots of traffic, and stainless steel doors for special rooms.
How much of the market share do you control?
We control 60 percent of the market share. We service all Puerto Rican plants, including Pfizer, BMS, Amgen, J&J, Medtronic, Novartis, and Actavis/Allergan, Baxter and for others we are the preferred vendor of these customers. We also do service for companies like Lufthansa Technik in Aguadilla.
We started M&N Electronic only a few years ago, but my father had 25 years’ experience and is well-known in this industry. I started with him in 1999, so I have 15 years’ experience working with doors as well, and everyone knows who we are.
Are these doors manufactured here?
The products and material are imported from the US, including Chase Doors, Rite Hite, Damotech in Canada and Nabco Entrances for aluminum-glass doors.
The Dominican Republic is a promising source of revenue for life science service providers but what industries can you service in the Virgin Islands?
In the Virgin Islands we take care of supermarkets and hotels. In the Dominican Republic we service the pharmaceutical and food & beverage areas, including J&J and Coca Cola. We service all companies here in Puerto Rico, many of whom have ventures in the Dominican Republic and we do the same business there.
What differentiates the M&N Electronic brand?
M&N Electronics is named after my mother and me. G.O.D. Enterprises is the other name of the company because we are focused and have a good system focused on perfection, like God. We try to have a team of perfection with the blessing of God on what we do. That is the essence of the company. Electronics comes from the electronic nature of the equipment we provide.
How do you instill that sense of perfection among your employees as a manager?
Having good management is always important; we are always looking for perfection and to do our best.
Continuous improvement is critical across all industries here in Puerto Rico. How do you adapt as technology improves in the life science sector?
Every year, all my suppliers change and update their systems. Looking ahead to have a good product to supply the pharmaceutical industry must be at the same level and standards to be competitive.
What are your future growth plans?
My goals, along with those of my associates, include negotiating for a new piece of land to have more space here in this office to create a big warehouse so we can respond more rapidly to customers’ needs. In the last two months, I have been travelling to the Dominican Republic to open an office there as well. This could happen between the next two to five years, as well as increasing our employment base.
Do you see yourself expanding beyond the Dominican Republic to other Caribbean islands?
At the moment we are focusing on doing the best we can in Puerto Rico. We are travelling to the Dominican Republic and the Virgin Islands to do service from Puerto Rico, and this can be very difficult and expensive. We are trying to have a location in Santo Domingo to increase our warehousing capacity and lower costs. Cuba is a potential option, but it is not in a good position at the moment compared to the Dominican Republic, which is growing every year and offers competitive costs compared to Puerto Rico.
