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TRL Awards
Awards presented to TRLTouchstone's high level of performance has earned the company numerous awards, received at the local, regional, and national levels. The company was listed in Inc. Magazine’s 500 Fastest-Growing U.S. Companies in both 1992 and 1993. In 1994, Touchstone was presented the “Small Business of the Year” award by the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation. Also in 1994, Touchstone was awarded the "Governor's Cup" for its contributions to economic growth in West Virginia, and that same year, the company earned the top national business honor bestowed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This award -- the "National Blue Chip Enterprise" -- is known as "the Malcolm Baldridge award for small business." Touchstone was the first research laboratory to earn this national quality award. In 1995 and 1996, Touchstone was named "NASA Subcontractor of the Year" by United Technologies-USBI in recognition of its work on the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters. In 1996, 1997, and 1998, Touchstone was nominated as "Small Business Subcontractor of the Year" by 3M Corporation for its work on a six-year Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) sponsored program.

In 1998, Touchstone was presented with its first Tibbets Award, as well as the Administrator’s Award for Excellence, from the U.S. Small Business Administration for superior performance under its highly competitive Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Named for Roland Tibbetts - acknowledged as the father of the SBIR Program - these prestigious national awards are made annually to those small firms, projects, organizations and individuals judged to exemplify the very best in SBIR achievement. Touchstone’s was awarded a second Tibbets Award in 2001.

Touchstone’s founders, Libby Kraftician and Brian Joseph, have together created what has been heralded as a truly remarkable American entrepreneurial success story - transforming Touchstone from two people in a basement, into one of the most successful, innovative and fastest growing private companies in America. While their expertise in technology, manufacturing and small business management has led to national recognition and honors, including stories in Inc., Entrepreneur, Small Business Opportunities and Nation’s Business magazines as well as on the airwaves of USA Network’s First Business news program, they have both earned individual recognition for their contributions and achievements, as follows:

Libby Kraftician

  • First person in the history of West Virginia to be honored by the state Senate for her contributions to technology, based on her efforts to create The Millennium Centre
  • Served on President Regan’s Presidential Task Force for Innovation & Research
  • National “Women of Enterprise Award” by U.S. Small Business Administration
  • Selected as West Virginia “Volunteer Economic Developer of the Year” by WVEDC
  • Named “Distinguished West Virginian” by the Governor of West Virginia
  • Recognized by the West Virginia Senate for contributions in science & technology
  • With Brian Joseph, named West Virginia’s “Entrepreneurs of the Year” by Ernst & Young
  • With Brian Joseph, named “Small Business Persons of the Year” by the U.S. Small Business Administration
  • Served on the Business Advisory Board of the Federal Reserve Bank in Cleveland
  • Represented West Virginia on the 16 State Southern Technology Council
  • Served on the Board of Directors of Wheeling Jesuit University
  • Served on the Small Business Advisory Council of the Small Business Administration
  • Served on the Administrative Board of the Ohio Valley Industrial & Business Development Council

Brian Joseph

  • Named West Virginia's "The Young Entrepreneur of the Year" by the Small Business Administration.
  • Served on the Board of the National Technology Transfer Center and was Interim Executive Director of the NTTC in 1996.
  • Managed a government-funded, multi-million-dollar program to develop composite materials for our nation's industrial base. The development of these advanced materials, a "National Critical Technology," is designed to provide our nation's aerospace manufacturers with a strategic, competitive advantage in the global market.
  • Working with a local economic development agency, wrote, directed and successfully implemented West Virginia's first government-funded Technology Transfer program.
  • Featured luncheon speaker at the 2003 National SBIR Conference & Workshop
  • Voting member of the Industrial Research Institute

 
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