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With its recent alliance with JM Ferry and Company, a large US furniture design outfit, MDC-UM is putting its competitors on guard. The company already has a deal with HNI Corporation, the second largest office furniture manufacturer in the USA.

MDC-UM’s managing director, Raymond Chin Choy, admits that the business deal with the US company is meant to give his company the edge. Why? Because companies are not just throwing desks and chairs in empty spaces, they are taking a more aesthetic route.

"The alliance with JM Ferry means that clients can now reap the benefits of a ‘one-stop shop,’ by accessing the interior design and co-ordination expertise," he said at a recent function at Royal Hotel in San Fernando to celebrate the company’s deal.

This will be complemented by MDC-UM’s innovative furniture and ergonomic designs, he said, noting that their designs are made to fit the way people work.

Chin Choy said that the US company will be stocking products from MDC-UM and will be their principal distributor for south Trinidad. The company is staffed by fully-trained local professionals.

Chin Choy reminded the gathering that MDC-UM, the largest manufacturer and exporter of office furniture in the English-speaking Car-ibbean, was the merger of Metal Designs and Concepts Ltd and Universal Metal, which was formerly owned by the Neal and Massy Group.

He said the alliance came about because of the increased demands for office space and its efficient use in the working environment.

JM Ferry’s director Jackie Pinard said MDC-UM was a good business fit for her company. "We offer a total office solution to customers," she said. Indicating that JM Ferry was the only company to provide all-round service, she said when they complete a project "customers can move directly into their offices and begin operations."

"What we find in the industry is that people want a nice working environment and also somewhere they could feel happy and relaxed," she observed.

Pinard added that through their alliance with MDC-UM they can also supply a superior quality product. "This is excellent for customers, especially for southerners. Everything is always in north," she noted.

MDC-UM’s marketing manager, Brian Charles, said that for many years people had known the company for its diverse range of locally manufactured products such as metal desks, filing cabinets, chairs, cupboards, shelving units, restaurant and school furniture.

As a result, he said, the company was able to enhance its market share.

MDC-UM is now recognised as the exclusive local distributor of a line of distinguished furniture brands like HON, Allsteel, Gunlocke, Paoli and Holga.

Allsteel, for instance, he said is a very state of the art, modular ergonomic furniture.

With such brands under its belt, Charles said the company is set on a growth path.

"We see ourselves growing over the next five years. We see ourselves doing more export and being able to deliver a wider range of products on the local market," Charles said.

Now, 75 percent of the products sold by MDC-UM is manufactured locally, while 30 percent of their sales are exported throughout the Caribbean.

They don’t intend to become complacent. "We will be coming out with more ergonomic chairs and work stations that fit the way people work, and storage systems which are very modular with different varieties as well as different work surfaces and finishes," said Charles.

"Everything from high pressured laminate to wood finishes. We will bring a lot more modern leather goods as well as executive furniture through our existing brands," he added.

Stating that MDC-UM had been at the forefront in designing and developing furniture for schools, Charles said they intended to focus not only on this but on the expanding restaurant business.