To call Figueroa Electric an electrical contractor is like calling the Mona Lisa a painting. You wouldn’t be wrong, but you’d only be scratching the surface of what it represents.
Located in Methuen, Massachusetts, Figueroa Electric specializes in custom and luxury residential, commercial, and industrial installations. The business services include lighting, controls, automation, service upgrades, home theater, security cameras, data networking wiring, commercial kitchen wiring, and EV charging. Of course, Figueroa can handle straightforward, high-quality electrical work. But performing that work in conjunction with its superior custom integration services is how the company creates masterpieces.
According to founder and president Kyle Figueroa, the company’s transformation was a product of opportunity — right place, right time. “There is a small group of us [electrical contractors] who were sort of pioneers in the services we offered,” says Figueroa, whose firm handles both residential and commercial clients. “We call ourselves the new ‘hybrid electricians,’ where we’re doing networking, lighting, AV, temperature control, all these different things.
“When I started out, we were often in people’s homes and businesses right at the beginning when the structures were going up. That’s a perfect time to introduce clients to the smart home ecosystem: when the walls are wide open, and people are receptive to hearing about all the benefits these devices can offer.”
A Breed Apart
Even within this group of so-called “mavericks,” Figueroa was a breed apart.
“We’re not doing the run-of-the-mill, conventional programming,” he explained. “We like to get a little crazy. We’re not afraid to try something creative. What we truly pride ourselves on is the ability/commitment to be the ultimate all-in-one solution to our clients. We’ve even got an acronym for it: P.R.I.D.E., which stands for Personal Responsibility In Delivering Excellence. By offering all these services in-house we are able to design systems that seamlessly integrate technology into the client’s interior design.”
Some of this creativity is demonstrated in Figueroa’s integration work, while some of it is displayed in how he sells it. The way that he interfaces with MantelMount, a leading designer and manufacturer of flatscreen television mounts, is a perfect example of both. Figueroa discovered the company and its collection of manual and automated mounts at a CEDIA Expo several years back. He was impressed with its functionality and how it solved such a common TV-viewing problem: televisions mounted too high on the wall for comfortable viewing.
While there are different models, each MantelMount performs the same basic function: allowing homeowners to mount their TV’s high on a wall (such as above a fireplace, a popular mounting option), bring it down to eye level (the optimal viewing position), and move it back to its original position when not in use.
After installing his first MantelMount — the MM860 Motorized Mount — he was fully on board; so much so that he decided to put one into his own living room. He was certainly impressed with the functionality of the product. Plus, with five children, he wanted to protect the TV from all the handprints that inevitably find their way to the screen when it’s located on a stand or entertainment center. But it was also the opportunity to explore the different user scenarios that captured Figueroa’s curiosity through what he calls “variable programming.” For example, the MM860 offers Multiple Memory Presets, allowing the user to easily program multiple preset positions to accommodate everyone’s favorite viewing position. Figueroa didn’t invent that capability, but he has a terrific pitch for selling it.
“His and Her” Presets
“I refer to these as ‘his’ and ‘her’ presets,” he explains. “For example, when I’m watching TV alone, I select ‘His’ and the television directs itself to my favorite position on the couch. When my wife selects ‘Hers,’ the television is angled toward her position. Clients certainly understand the basic concept. But when you put it in terms of ‘his’ and ‘hers,’ the benefit really sinks in.”
The kids were not left out of this custom programming scenario. “We renamed the ‘Gaming’ scene to ‘Family Movie,’ where it will lower to the center position and launch Kaleidescape.”
Figueroa strongly believes in the “wow” factor that MantelMount can produce. And he has created it with some fancy programming. “If someone is going to watch a movie, I can program it so that it becomes an entire movie theater experience,” he notes. “The MM860 has a 31-second vertical drop time. Knowing that, I can perfectly time it so that just as the TV reaches its viewing position, Netflix is launched, lighting curves are adjusted, and shades are lowered — all these automations are perfectly synchronized.”
Figueroa acknowledges that a client obviously needs to have these smart devices installed before they can create this type of unique scenario. But if the client doesn’t have them, they might be convinced to start investing in them — perhaps even an entire smart home ecosystem. Figueroa has configured his own MM860 utilizing the new Lutron Lumaris RGB with Tunable White to illuminate the TV, Control4 Halo remote, Lutron shades, Kaleidescape for viewing, and JoshAI for voice control. The impact of the overall presentation is not lost on his family.
“We’re That House”
“I’m always encouraging my kids to invite their friends over to watch movies,” he says. “When they hit the play button, all this smart-home magic starts to happen. We’ve definitely become ‘that’ house — the one that all the kids want to come to.”
The coolness of this setup is further driven home when someone hits pause, as the movie stops and the lights automatically increase in brightness, creating an “intermission” feel. Ultimately, Figueroa has duplicated the movie experience, down to the most minute detail — almost. “They do have to bring their own popcorn,” he adds.
Figueroa has also customized a bedtime scenario: basically, an “All Off” function. With the push of a single button, lights go off, shades fully lower, the AVR and TV switch off, and the MantelMount takes the 31-second journey back to its high-on-the-wall position. While a client might want their system programmed for one-touch operation, others may opt for a more complex routine, ensuring that someone doesn’t set the mount into motion with the inadvertent push of a button — something Figueroa calls the “oops” scenario.
Currently, Figueroa is beginning the process of recreating all this automation in his showroom, where he will install an MM860, along with a slew of smart devices, allowing clients to experience these highly customized scenarios for themselves. “We’re constantly amazed at the things our dealers and integrators have done to market our motorized mounts,” says Remy Kale, MantelMount’s director of client management. “These folks have figured out 1000 different use cases that we never thought of. Once they get the product in their hands, their imaginations run wild.”
To Figueroa, it just makes sense. “My job is not just to install TVs and smart devices, or even to customize them,” he explains. “Ultimately, I want to help you enjoy your home to the fullest. This is your sanctuary. My goal is to turn it into a place where you can not only have the best audiovisual experiences, but a place where you can create excitement and emotion.”
For more information, visit www.mantelmount.com.
