MCA Communications: Employees Key to Company’s Success

By: Julie Garay

Small businesses can face many challenges but with dedication and development a company can progress from a local company to a nationally recognized enterprise. This is exactly the case when it comes to MCA Communications, who was recently named one of the Top 50 Technology Integrators in the United States.

In 1983, Rick Cortez founded MCA Communications in Houston as a telecommunications installation company that focused on building lasting relationships with their customers and providing quality service. In this process, MCA also built a lasting relationship with the City of Houston by becoming a certified subcontractor through the Office of Business Opportunity. MCA rapidly grew from 10 employees to over 250, becoming one of the leading cabling subcontractors in Houston. Rapid growth is one of the most desired attributes for many local business owners, and MCA achieves that on a daily basis by constantly focusing on appealing to their market and finding new ways to further develop their company internally and externally.

MCA Communications has grown immensely over the years and now has a second-generation leader following in his father’s footsteps, Ricky Cortez. Ricky, who 20 years ago started as a part-time field technician while attending high school, currently serves as President of MCA. In his trajectory to president of a nationally recognized company, Ricky focused on dedicating time and gaining insight from MCA’s different departments, such as: operations, sales, engineering, and finance. “Knowing each aspect of your company shows you exactly how each piece correlates with the others, which can lead to finding new ideas and development,” he said.

Ricky shared with OBO how their dedication to the development of their staff is always priority. Staff training and development are assets that can help build a successful firm and there are many resources which can help business owners attain it. Ricky emphasized that their employees are the reason for their success and that MCA’s best investment, thus far, has been building an in-office training facility consisting of a full-time trainer, specifically for employees.

“My advice to other business owners is to invest in your employees through training and career development,” said Ricky.

On December 10, 2020, MCA Communications hosted Meet the Buyer Procurement Forum, one of OBO’s largest events, in which small businesses have the opportunity to network with city and other governmental procurement agents as well as prime contractors. This informative program consisted of many moving parts and MCA’s Virtual Event Team assisted with broadcasting the live presentations.

“We enjoyed meeting the City of Houston’s procurement team and were very pleased to see that over 450 people participated in this event,” Ricky said.

MCA Communications has successfully grown into a company that has been awarded numerous national contracts, including projects for some of the top Fortune 500 companies. With so many triumphs, comes experience and wisdom. When asked what he wished someone would have told him before embarking on this journey, Ricky said, “I wish someone had told me to slow down and enjoy the ride. Time flies when you’re having fun.”

FAMILY LEGACY: Ricky Cortez, President of MCA Communications, followed in the footsteps of his father, Rick, who founded the company in 1983.