Natrx: The Company Growing Coral Reefs Out of Concrete

Tad Schwendler, COO of Natrx, joins Scot Wingo to talk about manufacturing concrete structures that work with nature instead of against it. Natrx, a North Carolina company and Tweener Fund portfolio company, has developed a patented dry-forming process that injects moisture into dry material to create rough, complex structures capable of slowing water, encouraging natural sediment buildup, and even supporting live coral growth. Tad walks through the company's founding story, which traces back to coastal engineers doing oyster reef restoration at LSU and a chance meeting with NC State-connected software co-founders, and shares how his own background in corporate development and M&A led him into a hands-on operating role at a manufacturing startup. The conversation covers the physical scale of what Natrx builds, from three-foot units weighing just under a ton to twelve-thousand-pound structures bound for a coral restoration project in Hawaii, along with the company's growth: more than 85 physical deployments, over 100,000 units placed, and roughly 80 percent revenue growth year over year. It's a hands-on, visual episode and the first in a new series on North Carolina's under-the-radar physical manufacturing companies.Timestamps: 00:00 Cold open and sponsor thanks01:30 Welcome and series intro: NC's under-known manufacturing companies03:12 Introducing Tad Schwindler, COO of Natrx04:00 Formal welcome to the show04:42 Tad's background: Atlanta, Duke, the Triangle05:56 What does a COO actually do at Natrx?07:58 Duke, Tulane, and a lifelong pull toward marine science09:31 The founding story of Natrx09:43 Two coastal engineers, oyster reefs, and LSU11:13 Founded in 2018, commercializing by 202111:33 Nick's background: mechanical engineering meets software12:52 What Natrx actually builds13:13 Stopping water vs. working with it15:44 Families of shapes: lattice, wave slope, and scaling up19:02 How big are these things, and how deep do they go21:12 What is "dry forming"?22:07 The voxel: injecting moisture into dry material22:55 The patent and the 10,000 sq ft Louisiana facility23:37 Walking through the manufacturing process26:01 How much does a unit weigh?26:44 Shipping, barges, and why manufacturing stays centralized29:13 Every unit is a little different: the voxel "snowflake" effect30:02 How long do these structures last?31:03 Growing live coral on the structures32:30 How units get deployed in the water33:56 Who's the customer?35:50 Company scale: deployments, team size, revenue growth37:14 What's next for Natrx, including a Series A40:16 Why North Carolina is built for companies like this41:40 Where to learn more: natrx.io42:15 Credits and close-----Where to Find Tad SchwendlerLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tadschwendler/Natrx: https://natrx.io/Where to Find Scot Wingo: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thescotwingo/ Tweener Times: https://www.tweenertimes.com/ X: https://x.com/scotwingo--- This episode of Triangle Tweener Talks is hosted by Scot Wingo, presented and produced by NC Tweener Fund, with creative assets and design support from Walk West. We couldn’t share posts like this without our amazing sponsors: Platinum: NC IDEA: https://ncidea.orgGold Sponsors: - Balentine: https://www.balentine.com/triangle-entrepreneurs - EisnerAmpner: https://www.eisneramper.com - Robinson Bradshaw: https://www.robinsonbradshaw.com  Silver Sponsors: - Automated Consulting Group: https://automated.co - Bank of America: https://business.bofa.com/en-us/content/technology-industry-group.html  ------Triangle Tweener Talks is sponsored by:Atomic Object: https://atomicobject.com/