The Glass Gang’s All Here
Arrow Glass and Mirror lights up Central Texas buildings
Arrow Glass and Mirror’s (Arrow’s) 25 years in Austin is reflected—literally—in commercial and residential buildings all over the city, from glass curtain walls and storefronts to custom glass stairways and walkways.
“We have a culture of expertise and collaboration,” says President Joseph Rynders. “Team members share their knowledge, skills and talent to provide creative solutions for our customers. This approach has resulted in years of success and opportunities for us to build exceptional projects.”
Arrow works with general contractors, architects and custom homebuilders on ground-up construction projects, renovations and tenant improvements throughout Central Texas. The company provides a full range of glazing services, including design and installation of commercial storefronts, curtain walls and glass handrails and stairwells. Arrow’s craftsmen also design and install residential glass and mirrors, providing end-to-end glass elements and services, from exterior walls to window glass replacement units, custom shower enclosures and home-gym mirror walls.
“We perform the majority of our fabrication work in-house at our Austin headquarters,” says Project Manager Lewis Rynders, Joseph’s brother. Half of the company’s 20,000 square-foot facility is dedicated to commercial fabrication of aluminum storefront and curtain wall systems. Residential and commercial glass cutting, shower door construction and administration take up another 10,000 square feet of space.
Building a Business Through Relationships
Joseph grew up in and around family-owned businesses in Alton, Illinois, near St. Louis. He’s wanted to build a business of his own since he was young. After graduating with an engineering degree from the University of Illinois, he began a long career with Caterpillar Inc. “It was an excellent environment for developing the ability to work with clients and build relationships,” he says. He started as a design engineer, went on to develop custom products and later oversaw the company’s Asia-Pacific commercial engine business, before relocating to Texas three years ago.
He soon realized the growth opportunities ahead for Austin—and for Arrow, which was established in 1994 by Dan Robb. “The company has a lot of talented, experienced people, a strong track record and relationships developed over the years,” Joseph says.
He is focused on growing the business by leveraging staff expertise, deepening relationships with customers and fine-tuning estimating. He’s also deploying more technology strategically: “We take our cut sheets from our estimating software, optimize them and send them directly to our fabrication department,” he explains.
“We believe in treating everyone the way we want to be treated: employees, vendors and customers. That’s the right attitude, and that’s how we’ll continue to do business,” he adds.
Projects to be Proud Of
The company’s portfolio of work includes office and medical buildings, restaurants, retail, mixed-used developments and high-end, hospitality and multifamily properties.
Arrow installed vertical glass sunshades during construction of the two-story Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office. “This is aesthetically unique for glass and not commonly used in buildings in Austin,” says Barry A. Easley, Commercial Operations Manager. He anticipates that Arrow will install more of these in the future.
The Austin Public Library’s six-floor Central Library features a 35-foot-long bridge that Arrow installed as part of the building’s fourth floor. The walkway floor is transparent, fabricated with 1 1/4-inch multi-layered, laminated glass. It’s a showstopper. “This feature was the centerpiece of our work on this project. It is unique to the city,” Barry says.
Arrow has installed glass at four locations for Austin-based P. Terry’s Burger Stand. “They step out of the ordinary with building design: no two locations are the same,” Joseph says. The curtain wall glass that Arrow installed is a showcase element of the shape and design of the chain’s Capital Plaza location. Barry notes that this location is known as “the spaceship” due to its unique and interesting architectural design.
The company works directly with general contractors on new P. Terry’s locations that are under construction. Arrow also maintains and services the buildings’ doors and windows once the restaurants are in operation.
Arrow is also providing glass features for iSports Training and Performance Center in Cedar Park. The new ice skating/soccer complex features two hockey rinks, indoor soccer and sports-related tenants. “We’re doing most of the glass for this project, including the exterior and tenant finish out for Chaparral Ice, which is building the project and will maintain the rinks,” Barry says.
The team is excited about upcoming work for Harvey-Cleary Builders: the four-story,130,000-square-foot office at the Seven Oaks West project, for Abbott Laboratories.
Glass Service and Repair
The company also provides repair and maintenance services for doors and windows for property management companies and building owners. It receives calls almost daily. “If a window is broken, they need us right away,” Barry says. He developed the service team at Arrow when he joined the company 12 years ago and has overseen it ever since.
Barry is a committed glass guy. “I tried glass for the first time in 1979 in Farmington, New Mexico, and fell in love,” he says.” I really enjoy glass in general and working at Arrow Glass in particular.”
Arrow’s Glass Gang
“Our team represents hundreds of years of experience,” Joseph says. Four of Arrow’s employees have 35 or more years of experience. They put that deep knowledge to work for customers. They also teach and mentor the next generation of glaziers.
Arrow has more than 50 employees. Barry, who manages Commercial Operations, has 35-plus on his team, including installers, field superintendents and a field supervisor. Residential Operations Manager Jason Hines has 24 years of experience providing glass products to homeowners and builders. The seven well-trained and experienced installers on his team install mirrors, window glass and glass shower enclosures in Austin-area homes.
The residential team does outstanding work for individual homeowners all over Austin. They are proud of work with homebuilders like Nalle Custom Homes, Jauregui Architecture Interiors Construction, Metropolitan Custom Homes and Risinger & Company.
The residential team also performs work on multifamily and hospitality projects that require the high-end expertise that Arrow brings to the table. Recent examples include the East Austin Hotel, Miraval Austin and Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa.
The company is growing. “We’ve added many experienced team members in the past year,” Joseph says. Estimating Supervisor Kevin Henson also recently joined Arrow, bringing years of glazing industry experience to Arrow.
“Providing good employment opportunities at competitive wages makes a difference in the community and impacts a lot of families,” Joseph says. Employee benefits include health/dental/life insurance and a 401(k) plan. The company recently implemented a profit-sharing program. “When the company does well, I want employees to personally benefit,” he continues. “Each person’s individual job affects everyone else—and this mindset creates camaraderie, which is essential to a happy and productive workplace. When employees are given skin in the game, they are committed to the company and each other.”
Arrow also shares its skill with nonprofit organizations in the community. “We’ve done projects for Goodwill Central Texas, for example installing glass for their storefront buildings, and a housing center for the Salvation Army Austin,” Joseph says.
There’s No School for Glass
The company leverages their in-house expertise, encouraging, promoting and rewarding their skilled and driven employees.
“Our established glaziers have been with us many years and do great work,” Barry says. They also train new hires and help grow the company’s expertise. “There’s no school for glass or glaziers,” he points out. “We provide an internal school for glass and develop our own talent.”
The team holds weekly safety meetings, reinforcing safety procedures. “It really is the most important thing,” Joseph says. “At every job site, our team is trained to stop, slow down and analyze what potentially could go wrong.” Training covers the root causes of common safety issues and how to avoid them.
“Lifting a 300-pound piece of glass and getting it into a window opening is somewhat of an art form and takes a ton of communication. We train our crews on proper lifting techniques,” Joseph says.
The company is committed to open communication, where employees are comfortable with sharing ideas, asking questions or bringing up issues and concerns. “With an attitude of ‘no question is too basic,’ there’s a bigger opportunity for learning,” he notes.
Joseph expects 2020 to be the best year that Arrow’s ever had. “The Austin market is great, and we’re excited to be a part of its growth,” he says. “Our goal is to spend the next decade building Austin, growing with the city and being a committed community business.”