Keeping People Connected Through Technology

MCA Communications
Written by Jessica Ferlaino

Houston-based MCA Communications was established in 1983 and has developed a reputation for quality work and the capacity to overcome challenges on any project. The company provides comprehensive communications technology solutions; it designs, manages and enhances its clients’ communications technology infrastructure with the latest available technology.
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In its over thirty years in business, MCA Communications has completed over 5000 infrastructure cabling projects across the United States and around the world. The company has become an expert in its field and offers innovative services and solutions to a diverse range of clients in industries that include health care, energy, education, enterprise, large public venues and government.

The company was founded by Rick Cortez, drawing on his passion for, and experience in, the communications technology industry and has enjoyed consistent growth since its inception. Specializing in new construction projects, MCA has evolved with its clients and the market, to become a contractor of choice. And evolution has been necessary for survival, as this telecommunications integration and services company was established before the era dominated by cell phones, computers and rapidly changing technology.

It has the staff, the capacity and the expertise to deliver results on jobs of all sizes and complexities and has experience working on some of the largest buildings, hospitals and stadiums – including Houston’s NFL stadium – nationwide.

MCA offers customers access to cutting-edge technologies and communication technology solutions. It delivers quality, offers superior pricing, upholding the highest standards of safety and professionalism, making customer service its highest priority, building long-standing relationships with the customers it serves.

Rick’s son Ricky joined him at MCA after college, though Ricky recalls starting in the family business much earlier. “I grew up kind of in the family business,” Ricky explained. “As a kid, I worked in the warehouse, worked on projects that I could and eventually started working full time out of college. Thirteen years later, now I’ve taken the role of president, still working with my dad.”

His father has a tremendous passion and continued involvement in MCA, says Ricky. “He stays very involved just because he still loves what he does. He’s the kind of guy that just won’t retire.” He credits his father’s entrepreneurial spirit, positive attitude and business model as drivers of MCA Communications’ growth and success.

With a vision for the future, the two have divided and conquered. Ricky deals with most of the day-to-day business as president, while Rick remains involved with the company as CEO and manages key accounts. The duo has had a great deal of success. Each of them brings something special to the team which has led to a doubling of the size of the business in the last five years alone.

The business model adopted at MCA Communications is focused on building the company around its existing customers and their needs while taking on customers with similar needs and keeping up with technological advances. The company has expanded its services to steadily expand its own operations as well as its multiple industry partners and customers and, as a result, its client list continues to grow. Indeed, the firm’s top three customers are in the Healthcare, Oil & Gas, and Government sectors, and each is the leader in its respective field, reflecting MCA’s rich and diverse expertise.

“Our core business is cabling; we’re cabling experts,” described Cortez. “It is what we’ve always done; it’s what we’ll always do. But the technology that runs off of that cabling continues to evolve.” This has resulted in MCA naturally growing to include advanced collaboration solutions such as web-based video conferencing, touch walls, and in-building wireless technologies that create superior Cell and WiFi signals in any space. “The core business of cabling is important to master and sustain,” said Cortez, “because all of these innovative technologies are tied back to it.”

MCA has become so much more than just a cabling contractor. The company fully acknowledges the importance of the platform that copper and fiber network infrastructure provides to a building’s communications technology capacities. It works closely with its partners to ensure its customers enjoy the benefits of a properly designed and installed cabling infrastructure.

MCA Communications provides its customers with the capacity to support multiple voice, data, video and multimedia systems simultaneously. In short, customers can manage a building’s entire communications technology infrastructure. MCA’s hands-on approach adds value to every project of which it is a part.

MCA’s specialties are network infrastructure solutions (copper and fiber cabling, data centers, etc.), audio visual collaboration solutions (video conferencing, presentation systems, etc.), wireless solutions (DAS, Wi-Fi, etc.). These projects are backed by expert cabling installation, technology integration and 24/7 support.

In order to streamline its customer experience, MCA Communications has invested in a custom showroom that brings its approach and expertise to life. The showroom educates both employees and customers and highlights new products and technologies, helping customers make better decisions about available technology.

The showroom was set up in conjunction with its partners, which include some of the largest technology manufacturers in the industry. MCA provides the space and the customers, while its partners provide the technology. It has also teamed up with a furniture company to help clients design entire rooms in one place, offering all the corresponding pieces and streamlining design.

“We just look at it as another investment towards the education of our clients and the education of our employees and just a better way to provide the hands on experience for the new tech that we provide,” Ricky added. “Having that partnership is key, because it allows you to do things like this.”

MCA Communications is always up for a challenge and it will always find a way to deliver results. The company wants to ensure that not only is it the lowest bid, but that it has consistent project success and is easy to work with so that it can continue to secure notable repeat clients.

“For us, again, it just goes back to wanting to deliver. Our employees are of the same mindset,” Cortez explained. “We’ll put on two shifts, and we’ll have guys work the overtime, and we’ll bring in people from different crews amongst the company, and we’ll get it done.” MCA’s staff of 250 professionals includes more than two hundred trained and certified technicians.

MCA has enjoyed a long history and so have some of its employees. A handful of employees have been a part of the company since day one as one of the original crews who have helped to build MCA’s reputation for quality work. A significant number of their fellow employees have over twenty-five years of experience with the company.

“One of our principles is building relationships, and, when we say relationships, we mean employees, we mean customers and we mean distributors,” Cortez said. Both Ricky and his father spend a great deal of time in the field, maintaining open lines of communication and getting to know each and every employee.

“We just believe in being good employers, because obviously that is going to all come back to delivering quality work,” said Cortez. “It’s probably our biggest cost, but that’s what we think give us our biggest return on investment. When you invest in your employees, you are going to get a better quality product. For us, it’s what we’re selling; we’re selling a service.”

MCA has invested a great deal into workforce development and training and has had one of its senior employees trained by Building Industry Consulting Service International. By making this investment and having an employee trained by this certifying industry group, MCA can now train entry level employees and certify them to industry standard. In Houston, the approach is unique to the Electrical Contractors Union and MCA.

“In terms of separating ourselves from our competitors, being a small business and having that as a benefit, is really setting us apart,” stated Cortez. MCA is able to hire directly, avoiding temporary employment agencies and the struggles associated with a competitive jobs market in Houston. It offers competitive wage and benefits packages and takes care of its employees as these are its greatest asset.

“We enjoy employing employees; we enjoy helping the community, being a big part of the success of Houston by just thriving as a small business, and we want to continue,” explained Ricky. “I think being a family business, it’s something that is really just a full time thing. It’s who you are; it’s who our family is, and just keeping it alive and healthy is our number one goal.”

While looking back on thirty years of success, Cortez and his father look forward to thirty more. “We’ve continued to grow, and we want people to look at MCA as a company that is personal. We are small enough to be personal, but we are big enough to do any sized job. We strongly believe that we can do the biggest cabling job that there is, and we can do it the best.” To find out more, visit www.mcacom.com or contact the team at 281-591-2434 or Sales@mcacom.com.

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