Looking Back on Thirty Years of Success
When John Bosch Jr. and Andrew Cooper founded TyRex in January 1995, they began with a goal of 50 years of business success. It’s now thirty years later and TyRex has not only stood the test of time but has evolved into a family of technology companies that work harmoniously to solve complex manufacturing challenges and provide cost-saving solutions while giving back to the Austin Community that it calls home. While TyRex’s future is clearly evergreen, let’s take a quick look back on the three decades of achievements, technology adaptation and community impact that have made TyRex Built to Last.
Achievements
For many companies, profitability is the single measurement of success and identity, and while TyRex has remained profitable for 28 out of 30 years, our dedication to employee well-being and cultivating a Special by Design® company culture defines who we are. The established traditions that shape TyRex’s company culture are among its most significant achievements. For decades, TyRex has taken time each month to celebrate every TyRex Family Member’s birthday, work anniversary and professional achievements like Employee of the Month and 3D printing training. TyRex also hosts company culture events centered around popular holidays where TyRex Family Members can compete for cash prizes and participate in giving back charitably to our community.
A successful company culture doesn’t simply start and end with company-wide events, TyRex also provides various exhibits that bring joy, spark creativity and add personality to its manufacturing facility. The TyRex Family Dinosaur Museum is an especially unique TyRex hallmark that sets it apart from nearly all manufacturing companies and businesses. With nearly 500 individual artifacts and 20 exhibits scattered throughout the 88,000 sq. ft. facility, there aren’t many places one can look without noticing an authentic fossil or a life-size dinosaur statue. In addition to that, people can “dance with dinosaurs” with TyRex’s Dinovision studio, dine in our TyRex Café that serves 3D printed food and interact with three robots, including two of our own “TeleRex” virtual tour guides and a Gita “Follow-bot”. Family members can also interact with one another, post life updates, professional achievements, join interest groups and more virtually on TyRex’s own social application, the TyRex Family Album. Indeed, TyRex has established itself as a lively place to grow a career – just ask the dozen or so TyRex Family Members who have worked here for 15 years or more!
Technology
TyRex originally began operating in the computer space, assembling products for one of the largest names in the electronics and software industry. Keeping pace, TyRex opened its business model to provide game-changing solutions in the test & development and telecommunications industries. When the automotive and energy markets began going green, TyRex delivered innovation in EVs and renewable energy equipment. More recently, as a second Space Race emerged in Texas, TyRex
engineered and installed reliability into aerospace products. Today, as Industry 4.0 takes shape, TyRex stands ready and properly equipped with the tools, equipment, machines and expertise required to tackle new manufacturing challenges.
One huge milestone in technological adaptation was TyRex’s embrace of additive manufacturing. Once 3D printing moved away from its humble beginnings in the 80’s and hit a real boom in the 2010 era, TyRex adopted the technology as it became the first Carbon Production Partner in the State of Texas and installed its first Carbon M2 Series 3D printer. A couple of years later, after TekRex developed some of our most impressive engineered solutions, 3D printing opened up to the TyRex Family. By 2023, 99% of TyRex staff were trained on how to operate desktop 3D printers and from that, iRex engineers developed custom jigs that sped up cable production, an ARL lab manager designed and produced a (now patented) semiconductor fixture that paved the way for tremendous cost savings and more is still to come as TyRex Family members continue to wow and amaze all with their 3D printing innovations.
Some other innovative technologies TyRex has leveraged are Bitcoin mining (2015-2018), Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), 3D printing using renewable materials, software development and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Community Impact
From day 1, John and Andrew operated under the agreement that TyRex was itself, a resident of Austin, TX, and as such had a responsibility to give back and care for this city’s well-being. To start, TyRex operates ethically, we establish long-term partnerships with our customers founded on mutual respect, we put morality over profit, we support underserved populations and we lend our professional expertise to the young manufacturers of tomorrow. Examples include STEM club students at
Westwood High School, the expansive robotics teams at Vandegrift High School, racing clubs, entrepreneurial classes at Concordia University and production technician cohorts at Skilllpoint Alliance.
In 2009 TyRex launched its signature nonprofit, RecognizeGood. What began as an online campaign designed to get Austinites to post random acts of good has since turned into three central programs that shine a light on the outstanding individuals, organizations and groups doing good in the Greater Austin community:
- RecognizeGood Legends
- Goal: We illuminate selfless individuals who go to extraordinary lengths for others in order to inspire community citizenship, promote volunteerism and show gratitude for the good being done all around us daily.
- RecognizeGood Lighthouses
- Goal: We illuminate the selfless community efforts and philanthropy of area service clubs to tell their stories and inspire others to make our community a better place.
- Ethics in Business Awards
- Goal: We illuminate those businesses, individuals and nonprofits who believe that doing GOOD is good business, and maintain our level playing field in the Central Texas business community by exemplifying ethical practices.
To date, Recognizegood has donated over $400,000 to various charities and has honored over 150 individual volunteer Legends!
Having a signature nonprofit has not stopped the TyRex Family from building its own connections with community partners to give back. For years, iRex has been working with the West Austin Rotary Club to donate backpacks and school supplies for incoming Wooldridge Elementary School students. Megladon has supported numerous NPOs from the Ride On Center for Kids (ROCK) to Ducks Unlimited and the Milam Adult Resource Center (MARC). ARL and DLi along with TyRex have participated in the Greater Austin Regional Science Fair and Engineering Festival (GARSEF) as guest judges, category sponsors and more recently 3D printed trophy suppliers.
Today’s business landscape is full of get-rich-quick schemes and startups looking for instant business success. Making it to thirty years is no easy feat, but TyRex has not just survived, it has thrived through industry complications from the dot-com bust to the COVID-19 pandemic by readily adapting itself to meet ever-changing needs while staying grounded in its core company beliefs. From 1995 to 2025 and towards 2045, TyRex marches on!
