Tech-Labs Turns 40!
Celebrating 40 years helping schools provide world-class education!
Join us as we celebrate 40 years helping to change lives through education! Looking back on the enormous changes that took place both in our company and our industry, we could never have imagined how far we would come.
Message from Our President
"My name is Tim Brown and I was born Marietta, Georgia in 1949. Two years after I graduated from Osborne High School in 1967, I joined the army and became an infantry soldier, 2nd Wolf Hounds SGT 1 969-1970 in Vietnam. After my military service, I attended West Georgia College and received a BBA in 1974. While at West Georgia I was a founding member of the Sigma Nu fraternity chapter. Upon graduation, I trained at the Xerox School and took various sales jobs in the Atlanta area. In 1974, I moved to Texas and was working for Buck Engineering Education Co. / Lab-Volt Systems selling educational systems and training equipment. During my second and third year, I sold more than anyone else in the country. In the fall of 1978, I branched out on my own and incorporated Technical Laboratory Systems, Inc. with my wife, Dede."
The Timeline
1978, The Beginning
It has been forty years since our President, Tim Brown, left Georgia in an old Dodge Dart with a dream to build a company that would ultimately improve peoples' lives. It was his dream to partner with educational institutions in Texas and Oklahoma by providing the latest technology and curriculum available and the best quality training equipment in education to enable students to achieve successful careers.
Territory Expansion
X-Cal was started in 1998 to expand our services into new territories, eventually to include New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Today we employee two salespeople to cover these states. Eleven years later in 2009, TecSolutions was established by Dede Brown as a woman-owned business to focus primarily on engineering education apparatuses to all eight states in our territory.
Today the three family-owned corporations sell about 18 million dollars annually and employ over twenty-two people. We project to sell over 20 million dollars in 2018 selling 3D printers, robots, automation, CNC machines, industrial training systems, and much more.
Long-term Partnerships
To be successful, it was important for us to develop long-term relationships with manufacturers that were leaders in their respective areas. One of our first partnerships was started in 1981 with Amatrol Inc. who develops and manufacturers learning solutions for industry and education to equip learners with the skills to master technical systems, solve problems and adapt to a rapidly-changing workplace.
In 1991, we partnered with LJ Create who designs practical and innovative teaching solutions that provide the tools to inspire students. LJ Create produces blended-learning resources in the form of hardware, software and e-learning curriculum for schools, colleges, universities and vocational training organizations worldwide.
Our Success
"We have been successful because of the grace of God, hard work, honesty, service, and integrity as well as consistently delivering exceptional customer support. We have been blessed with hiring and retaining great people who do phenomenal things individually and as a team. Without great people, no company can succeed and flourish for 40 years. Tech-Labs started in a back bedroom graduating to an enclosed garage and then to office buildings. Today, we are now constructing a 14,000 sq. foot two-story commercial building and technology center."
Tim Brown
Our Employees are like Family
When you work closely with a group of people on a common goal, you find that they become like family. We have been blessed over the years with the relationships we have developed with our employees. Our staff has grown to over twenty-four, which includes our sales, training and technical support, marketing, and administrative teams to deliver outstanding service to our customers. But, it's not only the size of our team that we find amazing, but it is also the length of time we have gotten to work with them.
Two of our employees will be celebrating their 27th year with Tech-Labs. Robert Neal joined our sales team September 1st, 1991 and has been a critical factor in our success. His honesty and integrity embody the vision of our company. Robbi Hay came on board less than a month later to help direct our office support and work closely with Dede in accounting and purchasing. Robbi’s hard work and dedication are unmatched. This company wouldn't have become what it is today without these to remarkable people on our team.
Also, two of our employees have been with the company for over ten years. Mike Sudduth is celebrating his 17th year working in our sales department, and Jamey Deloney, our Sales Manager, is celebrating his 12th year. Mike, Jamey, and Robert have competed for Sales Person of the Year over many of the years they have worked together.
The Future
As exciting as it can be too look back, it is even more exciting to see where we are going! We are very pleased that our son, Warner Brown, is extraordinarily successful in the business and continues to manage more and more of the company's operations. Warner started with the company over ten years ago implementing modern technologies and doubling the company's sales guaranteeing a successful, bright future for the company and its employees.
2018 holds many changes for Tech-Labs as we continue to grow and serve our customers. This past year we have purchased land and developed plans for a new facility that is scheduled to open in the last quarter of this year. Not only will the facility provide much-needed room for our employees, but it will also provide a technology center for demonstrating new equipment to both our education and industry customers. Make sure to check back throughout the year for updates!
