BY ANNA GENASCI
Stanislaus County Farm Bureau
To celebrate the 50th anniversary and great success of TDR, Inc. (TDR), hundreds of customers, employees, family and friends recently gathered with Barbara and sons, Tony and Mathew Bruno.
TDR is a full-service provider of dairy design, construction, equipment, maintenance and aftermarket services.
“Over 250 invites went out to customers, vendors and employees to celebrate the anniversary at Dust Bowl. We enjoyed the outdoor beer gardens, food, and live music – it was a family friendly event,” shared Tony, the current president of TDR.
But this is not where their story begins.
Matt Bruno, Tony and Mathew’s dad, founded TDR in 1972 when he merged Turlock Refrigeration Center with Turlock-based Miller Dairy Supply. With a staff of four employees, the business initially specialized in servicing dairy and refrigeration equipment. When the industry trend shifted from small dairies to larger, more automated facilities, TDR moved into dairy design and construction.
“My dad grew up in an ag family. They farmed peaches, almonds and grapes,” shared Tony. “In the beginning it was just dairy service and installation.”
Tony explained that his dad expanded the business in the early 1990s to include construction. “That led to building milk barns, free stall barns, and we had a great working relationship with JS West, so we built egg layer houses,” he said.
Matt built TDR on the foundation of serving and satisfying hard-working dairy owners that expected nothing less from their vendors.
Matt died in 2011, but not before instilling a passion for the business into his two sons.
Matt and Barbara’s sons, Tony and Mathew, joined the family business after graduation from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, in 1997 and 2000, respectively.
Under their leadership, the younger Brunos have added an aftermarket division, offering an extensive line of aftermarket products to their customers. Today, they continue to seek out the latest innovations in the industry, partnering with Lely (dairy robotics), to bring the first commercial fully automatic robotic dairy to California.
Tony, president, joined TDR after graduating from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 1997 with a degree in Ag Business, and a concentration in Marketing. He also manages the operational side of his family’s portfolio of commercial, industrial, retail and residential properties.
Today, TDR employs almost 90 employees.
Tony said that he really enjoys the interaction with customers, the operational side of the business and the innovation that drives the dairy industry — like the partnership with Lely.
“We algin with the most innovative companies. Installing robotics is becoming more popular with the scarcity and cost of labor,” shared Tony.
Milking robotics is not where the technology ends. Tony mentioned that TDR is looking at Lely’s automated feeding component that allows cows to eat when hungry and helps to eliminate feed waste.
Mathew, CFO, joined TDR after graduating from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo with a degree in Ag Business Finance. The firm’s Chief Financial Officer, he earned a Master of Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance, in 2000.
The brother team sit just a handful of feet away from each other, sharing an office space. It is easy to glean that both Tony and Mathew enjoy the successful business that their parents began 50 years ago.
