After several years in the refrigeration industry, Melvin Tyler and Mike Kurz decided it was time to start their own company. In 1979 Industrial Refrigeration Service Co. Inc. was born.

As a two-man startup, Industrial Refrigeration focused primarily on service and part replacements for Mainly Table Grapes and Citrus in California’s San Joaquin Valley. After a few seasons, they started to design and manufacture large, custom, built from the ground up, refrigeration systems. This allowed them to expand their customer base by manufacturing such systems for growers of nuts, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, cherries and many other commodities.

For the next 26 years, Industrial Refrigeration would build refrigeration systems for the fresh produce industry throughout the state of California.

Andrew Tyler’s earliest memories are of following his dad (Melvin Tyler) on service calls and to construction sites. After graduating college in 1996, he began working full time for the family owned and operated company. After the passing of Melvin Tyler in 2005, Andrew became a partner.