Business View Caribbean | Volume 9, Issue 2

25 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 9, ISSUE 2 UNI VERSAL EQUI PMENT SALES & SERV I CE addition to Puerto Rico, the company’s sales and service departments have been involved in consulting, technical services, and proposals throughout the Caribbean Islands. Company President, Alejandro Hernandez, recounts, “Universal Equipment Sales & Service was founded by my Grandfather back in 1985. He grew the company along with my father and my uncle in the ‘90s and now we’re working with our 3rd generation. I have been President since last year and I have two cousins who are also in the business. We’ve grown mainly in our competitive offerings and our general product lines. When my Grandfather founded the company, we were mostly into commercial booster systems like water pumps – anything related to water, specifically. As a sales and service company, we catered to commercial clients such as hospitals, hotels, and commercial buildings.” Due to the lack of a good pressurized water supply, any building in Puerto Rico that has more than four floors needs a water booster system. They will have a cistern (tank) to hold the water and use pumps to boost to different rooms or apartments. So Universal Equipment developed a good business in maintenance for this type of system. Hernandez explains, “We started out mainly providing support and maintenance to these commercial clients through yearly contracts, where we cover any labor and send out our technicians whenever the system is down. Then, in the ‘90s, we started getting into the water heating business. After that, we got into water treatment (filtration and softeners) with the Marlo company.” Soon after, in the 2000s, Universal Equipment made a foray into the commercial and industrial laundry business, which has recently taken off. Their main supplier is Continental Girbau, with whom they’ve had tremendous success over the years. Being located on a small island, most Puerto Rican companies have a vast product line from different suppliers, and Universal Equipment is