TDIndustries

Founding and early years

Founded as Texas Distributors, Inc., the name TDIndustries was coined in the early 1980s.

The first board of directors meeting of Texas Distributors, Inc. was recorded on February 5, 1946 with Jack Lowe Sr., his mother, Florence Lowe, and her sister, Julia Lee Greer, in attendance. The three of them, according to the minutes, “subscribe for and agree to take” two hundred shares of stock in the company with Greer and Jack Lowe each accepting ninety-nine shares and Florence Lowe two shares, all at a face value of one hundred dollars.

Greer, who ran an auto parts business, co-signed the bank loan that provided twenty thousand dollars in start-up capital. She also lent the new company working space for a time in her building at 1820 Canton. The company charter was filed immediately with the Secretary of State's office, enabling them to meet again at 2 pm the next day at Greer's building for the “first meeting of the incorporators and stockholders and subscribers.”

At that point ten thousand dollars cash was advanced to the corporation and the three stockholders elected themselves directors for a year; they held a board of directors’ meeting called for an hour later at which they adopted by-laws, approved a stock form and made themselves the company's first officers. By a unanimous vote of three, Lowe became both chairman of the board and president of the company. Mrs. Lowe was elected vice president and Greer secretary-treasurer.

Texas Distributors concentrated on repair work early on—there was nothing to distribute at the time because Texas Distributors did not yet have a distribution agreement with a manufacturer and because none of the manufacturers had changed over from war production. TD's first employees repaired or installed various heating and cooling systems, including refrigerators, ice cream freezers, water fountains, and attic fans.