Grady was raised in Colorado, where upon graduating from Arvada High School, he chose to go to trade school for diesel mechanics at Denver Automotive & Diesel Mechanics School. That career path lead him to be an offshore mechanic, in Texas, for Halliburton Services in the oil boom of the 80’s.
As that boom cycle came to an end, Grady returned to Colorado and enrolled in the University of Colorado at Denver’s Mechanical Engineering program. He graduated in 1988 with a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering. While attending college he met His wife Anne who was studying Electrical Engineering.
Upon graduation Grady and Anne were married and Grady began his engineering career at The Gates Rubber Company as a research engineer.
In 1991 Grady and Anne got their first introduction to an entrepreneurial business in the beef industry, raising grass fed beef, when they began participating in Anne’s family’s ranching operation. Today, Anne & Grady reside on the plains portion of the ranch in Elbert County, Colorado.
In 1993, Grady bought a manual mill and lathe with $6000.00 on his credit card and launched Reata Engineering & Machine Works, Inc. at night while still working days at the Gates Rubber Company. In February of 1994 he left Gates and hired his first employee.
Reata Engineering & Machine Works is a contract design and manufacturing firm. Reata provides design engineering, prototypes, tooling, production machining, assembly, and testing. It serves various industries including aviation/aerospace, medical, semiconductor capital equipment, consumer goods, automotive, industrial, optics, lighting, fluid handling, and material handling to name a few. Reata also manufactures and distributes its own products to the plant maintenance industry.
Grady first got involved with NTMA at the local chapter - Rocky Mountain Tooling and Machining Association, where he was President in 2005 and 2006. He began serving on the NTMA Executive Team in 2008. Grady believes that that the NTMA has contributed a great deal towards Reata’s success as a company while at the same time contributing to Grady’s personal development. Grady is a current member of the University of Colorado – Denver Engineering Advisory Board, and has served on the University’s Alumni Board. In addition, Grady volunteers for the Boy’s and Girl’s Clubs of Metro Denver, where he has served on the selection committee for the Junior and Senior Youth of the Year.
