Mark Kuntz CEO Mitsubishi Electric Trane US, LLC (METUS), Interview Questions
1. Who is Mitsubishi Electric Trane US, LLC (METUS)?
Mitsubishi Electric HVAC has been a leading provider of heat pumps and VRF systems in the United States since the company was established in the 1980s to introduce ductless mini-splits to the U.S. market. A decade later we expanded into Latin America and the Caribbean, and our portfolio has grown beyond spot cooling and heating systems to the comprehensive whole-building solutions we offer today.
In May, 2018 the company was restructured as a joint venture between Trane Technologies plc and Mitsubishi Electric US, Inc. and currently operates as Mitsubishi Electric Trane US, LLC (METUS). The family of brands supported by METUS includes: Mitsubishi Electric, Trane®/Mitsubishi Electric, and American Standard®/Mitsubishi Electric. More information is available at www.metahvac.com.
Our products for Latin America include residential and light-commercial M- and P-Series variable-capacity heat pumps and air conditioners, light-commercial SMART MULTI systems connecting either P-Series Indoor units or CITY MULTI indoor units, and commercial CITY MULTI variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems and chillers. Additionally, we provide energy recovery ventilators (ERVs), air curtains, IT cooling units, and Jet Towel hand dryers. To ensure seamless control and management of our HVAC systems, we offer a wide range of remote, system, and central controllers, as well as cloud-based building management systems.
METUS operates our headquarters and primary warehouse in Suwanee, Georgia. To meet the growing demand of VRF and improve delivery lead times to our customers, we’re supported by the PIMS factory in Mexicali. We’ve also recently expanded our inventory footprint, incorporating a 160,000-square-foot warehouse in Mira Loma, CA, and a 400,000-square-foot warehouse in New Jersey. These investments ensure that we can continue to meet our customers’ needs effectively and efficiently.
2. What are the main goals of METUS?
METUS exists to provide unmatched personal comfort and enduring community benefits for our customers, trade partners and team members. To accomplish this, our main goal is to continuously improve the quality, energy efficiency and durability of our unique heat pump technology and bring total comfort solutions to homes and businesses throughout the Americas. In support of this main goal, we are also working to improve our product stocking, distribution and customer support infrastructure so that our customers get the products they need, when they need them.
3. What has been the key factor for METUS growth in the last 5 years?
We have cultivated long term relationships with the best HVAC distributors in the Americas, have supported their efforts to make customers aware of our unique technology and have assisted them in delivering superior comfort and efficiency to these customers
4. As CEO of METUS, what has been your success key factors to become successful in the VRF business?
I started in the HVAC business as a sales engineer. Having spent much of my career with a conventional HVAC manufacturer, I became intrigued at the notion of VRF technology that saved space, conserved energy, and delivered the highest level of personal comfort to end users. When I first joined the Mitsubishi Electric team, I helped introduce multi-location retail customers (i.e. Target stores, Kroger grocery, Lenscrafters eyeware) to these benefits and assisted them in the design and application of the technology. This personal experience and intimate involvement with the product has enabled me to scale up our business and make our processes and services better.
5. What is your view about your business in Latin America? In Guatemala with RefriPRO?
Customers in most of Latin America are not familiar with our products and the benefits they can provide. Guatemala, however, is a much different story. RefriPRO has been a leader and role model for our business throughout all of the Americas, with their full-service approach to delivering well-engineered, perfectly executed projects of all sizes, from small retail shops to the largest privately owned hospital in Central America. They served customers across many industries, including first class office space, multi-family residential, banking and healthcare.
6. How will you describe your business relationship with RefriPRO? RefriPRO’s achievements inside your company?
RefriPRO is a strategic partner of METUS, helping us plan our business and technology path together. They pioneered the adoption of VRF in Guatemala and have recently introduced one of most highly engineered technologies, modular eChillers as an effective, energy efficient replacement for conventional chilled water systems. METUS has learned from RefriPRO how to build a support infrastructure to ensure that these systems are properly designed, built, commissioned, and maintained. They continue to pioneer many unique applications for our technology.
RefriPRO has earned METUS’s distinction as International Distributor of the Year three times over the past five years.
7. There are several successful projects in Guatemala (Hospitals, Office Buildings, Apartment Buildings), how have METUS and RefriPRO achieved this?
RefriPRO has a deep portfolio of successful projects that they can point to and provide assurance to a new customer that the VRF technology and its application will be successful. They maintain long term relationships with their customers, so a new customer is always welcome to consult a previous customer on their satisfaction with their system. This is a reinforcing cycle, as the applications of the technology expand and the list of satisfied customers grows.
