Hispanic Houston · Business & Community Builders
Ronald Brenes came to the United States from Colombia in search of a better life. In Houston, his story has become connected to a business that helps other organizations make their ideas visible: Etch Houston, where he serves as president.
Architectural glass, custom signs and display solutions are the company’s specialties. They are also part of the city’s everyday landscape—the entrance that welcomes a visitor, the sign that helps someone find a destination, and the glass that gives a shared space its character.
A business built around making things
Etch Houston describes more than four decades of experience, and its company profile lists 1982 as its founding year. Today, the business presents itself as a team that takes projects through design, fabrication and installation.
Its current services span decorative and privacy glass, etching and engraving, architectural signs, wall graphics and illuminated displays. The range includes directional signs, ADA and Braille signage, dimensional lettering and recognition walls. Bringing those different formats together means working at the intersection of visual design and practical use.
A piece of glass or a sign has a job to do. It may create privacy, identify a business or help people navigate a building. At Etch Houston, those needs become physical objects, made for the places where people work, shop and gather.
Work with a Houston connection
The company’s published portfolio offers a look at that work. Etch Houston identifies the entrance glass wall at the Museum of Illusions in the Houston Galleria as one of its projects. It also lists canvas art murals at Juan Santamaría International Airport in Costa Rica, showing a reach beyond Houston.
These company-reported projects give readers a concrete way to understand the business: through the surfaces, displays and visual details that become part of a visitor’s experience. They also show the breadth of a craft that can move between a local commercial space and an international setting.
Adapting when business changes
A moment from 2020 adds a more personal perspective. In an ABC13 report published April 23 of that year, Brenes described a quiet shop during the early pandemic and anticipated that more orders would arrive virtually. His comments captured the uncertainty of an owner with the ability to build, but a changed market for his work.
“We just have to take it as it comes and be ready for the new changes.”
Ronald Brenes, speaking to ABC13 in April 2020
That observation puts adaptability alongside craftsmanship in this Houston business story. The tools and products matter, and so does the willingness to respond when customers’ needs and ways of doing business change.
For Houston City Beat’s Hispanic Houston collection, Brenes brings a story of Colombian roots, immigration and enterprise. His work at Etch Houston offers a window into one of the many businesses that help give the city’s commercial spaces their identity.
Explore the work: Visit Etch Houston to view its services and portfolio.
This profile draws on published company information, ABC13’s 2020 reporting and biographical background shared with Houston City Beat. The quoted remarks are from ABC13’s report.
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