Electro- Biology P.R. Inc.’s Guaynabo plant which makes seven orthopedic products is slated for substantial expansion this year, according to Vice President Bartolome Gamundi.

Gamundi, who has overseen the Guaynabo facility for 19 years, also supervises two other plants one in New Jersey and one in Oklahoma which, together with the Guaynabo plant, represent 60% of the parent company’s division sales.

Parent company Biomet Inc., headquartered in Indiana, just bought the New Jersey plant for $97 million. Although it has only 27 employees, it complements the Guaynabo operation which manufactures invasive vertebrae- fusion equipment. The New Jersey plant produces noninvasive materials. ‘’Spine treatment equipment is the largest growth area of our company’’, Gamundi said.

The Oklahoma plant, which manufactures mostly soft goods, such as arm slings, produces 10,000 different products. It has 160 employees, mostly women, ‘’with an admirable work ethic’’.

When Gamundi took over the plant three years ago, he changed the concept from mass production to  modular manufacturing. This cut the manufacturing cycle (from the moment the order is received to when it is shipped) from four days to three hours.

Gamundi checks the stateside operations two or three times a month, while a local resident, Jose Rivera, spends two weeks a month in Oklahoma as general manager. In addition, local engineers travel to Oklahoma regularly to exchange information and train personnel. Regarding supervision of plants in the U.S. by local managers, Gamundi said, ‘’It’s a challenge, and with today’s excellent communications, through video conferences and e-mail, it’s all so much easier’’. He stressed the importance of local managers to globaliza, and grasp the work ethic of other places, in order to be successful.

Five years ago, Gamundi was given control of a Florida plant that made synthetic casts, but three years ago that operation was transferred to the already existing Guaynabo plant. Two units manufacture invasive and noninvasive bone-healing products for closing bone fractures. Two other units manufacture ice therapy products to lower post- operative inflammation. A recently started unit manufactures equipment that enters the vertebrae and allows full vision of the area. This invasive equipment is important for diagnosis and pain management.

Gamundi pointed out that annual sales by plants under his management consistently increase 15% to 20%. The products manufactured locally by Electro-Biology are exclusive on the world market. The key to this success, he said, is proper management of interpersonal relations among employees. ‘’We are very innovative, especially with regards to people. We give each of our employees 100 hours of training annually. This reflects our philosophy of working as a team but also of encouragingour employees to become better citizens. We give them the tools needed to solve everyday problems and also to instill trust in the group helping them work as a team,’’ Gamundi said. The training, he noted, is ongoing and is in addition to the technical training given to employees. Gamundi credited the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (Pridco) with helping Electro- Biology foot the bill for the training.

Gamundi also lauded the Guaynabo plant’s summer intern program which he credited with createing a positive atmosphere. Employees’children, he explained, work during the summer and seven have benn recruited as regular employees, receiving a full college acholarship.

Another benefit employees enjoy is the day care center the company has provided for the past 10 years, being the only Biomet plant to offer one. Additionally, all Biomet employees are given shares in the company. The local company has an annual payroll of $3.3 million, plus $1.7 million in benefits which does not include the shares plan nor the 401 K benefits or the seniority bonuses.

Gamundi added that all of this has resulted in the Guaynabo plant having the lowest employee turnover, only 1%, of all company plants. ‘’One of our plants biggest challenge is to maintain ourselves on the edge of technology, which is constantly changing, in order to retain existing jobs and to create new ones’’, said Gamundi. Puerto Rico, he added, must find new ways to remain competitive, such as obtaining from the U.S. Congress a five- year extension of the Internal Revenue Code Section 936 a federal tax- exemption encentive which ends in 2006.

‘’Section 30A benefits only labor intensive industries’’, said Gamundi, ‘’It’s too costly to manufacture in Puerto Rico so our competitiveness lies in attracting high tech industries, which don’t provide many direct jobs but generate a lot of service jobs.’’

Gamundi, a former president of the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association (PRMA), advised Gov. Sila Calderon to keep her administration open to professional associations, such as PRMA and the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce, and for these associations to collaborate with the government.

Gamundi urged both government and associations to nurture alliances with Caribbean nations. The cheaper labor of neighboring islands, he said, is a perfect complement to Puerto Rico’s high-tech expertise and this could help local plants remain competitives.