Torch Technologies

Torch employee owners Emily Howse and Caleb Bowen were recognized for an award for their work at TAGM. Congratulations on this prestegious honor and thank you for continuing to deliver excellent service to your customer!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for Employee Ownership! Our employee owners gathered recently to enjoy some ice cream and celebrate the benefits of employee ownership. Torch Technologies is proud to be 100% employee owned.

GVSETS 2024 has been a great show. NDIA Michigan recognized Torch for five years of supporting this outstanding event.

Day 1 of GVSETS was a huge success! Four of our technical experts presented papers and our booth was busy. Be sure to come by and see Torch Technologies at booth #217 today!

While you are at GVSETS today, be sure to stop by the Torch booth #217. Our team of technical experts is on hand to answer any questions you may have.

While you are in Novi this week for GVSETS 2024, be sure to stop by the Torch Technologies booth #217 to learn more about how we are using technological innovation to prepare today's warfighter.

While you are at the SMD Symposium today, don’t forget to stop by the Torch booth #1411. Our staff are on hand and ready to learn about your needs.

Torch STEPs was pleased to host Madison Hospital President Mary Lynne Wright to discuss leadership through the ages.
Mary Lynne shared her career story with our employees and provided insight on how to strengthen your leadership skills and become a more effective leader.

Thank you to the many employee owners who took the time to visit the Life South blood bus today and give the gift of life!
Each pint of blood donated can potentially save up to three lives. Thank you for all you do in support of our community.

Torch Technologies is pleased to be a Gold Patron of the SMD Symposium August 6-8 at the Von Braun Center.
Be sure to stop by the Torch Booth #1411 for a technology demo or meet with one of our technical experts.

Torch Technologies was pleased to be a Silver Sponsor of the American Cancer Society’s Summer Soiree. Stacey Huckaby, one of our employee owners, was among eight honorees recognized for making a positive community impact on the North Alabama area. Congratulations, Stacey, and thank you for all you do!

We've had an outstanding group of interns this year! We hosted a send-off lunch to wish them well as they head back to campus. We hope to see them all back at Torch next summer!

Starfish Holdings, Torch Technologies and Freedom Real Estate and Capital were honored to be recognized as a Lifetime Community Partner by the Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville. The award recognizes all three companies for an enduring gift that will mobilize generosity to improve quality of life for generations to come. As an employee-owned company and Benefit Corporation be believe in community support and are honored to partner with the Community Foundation to help better our community both today and tomorrow.

Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville Freedom Real Estate & Capital, LLC Holdings

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Torch Technologies Co-Founder and Freedom Real Estate & Capital CEO Bill Roark joined a group of ESOP Association members at the first White House Convening on Worker-Owned Businesses hosted by the White House National Economic Council. The event was a forum to discuss efforts to grow worker-owned businesses and promote worker ownership transitions.

Ownership

We had a great time at Fire Pit Ignite! Our bi-annual innovation competition reached new heights this year with record-breaking participation! Congratulations to our four finalist teams: Beta Buddy, FORTS, Sneaky Signals, and TrackitX.
These teams will compete head-to-head in September for their share of cash prizes and the opportunity to become Fire Pit Champion!

Some of our Torch employee owners were proud to support Boys & Girls Clubs of North Alabama Leaders and Legends Dinner. NFL great Jerry Rice was the featured speaker. It was great to learn more about this phenomenal organization and the work they do in our community.

Our summer interns impressed us all with the projects they have worked on this summer during our Intern Experience Fair. We had 14 colleges and universities and a variety of majors represented.

The future looks bright in the hands of these students. Thanks for all of your hard work! We hope to see many of you again next year.

Fire Pit Ignite! is tonight and we can’t wait to see the innovations our teams have developed.
We expect to have a record crowd on hand. Who will the finalists be? Come back tomorrow to find out.

School is just around the corner. Our employee owners collected a wealth of school supplies for Free 2 Teach. These supplies will be provided to local teachers at no charge.

Despite some rain, a group of our employee owners had a great time at the STEPs Float the Flint event last Saturday. The event provided an opportunity to meet other employee owners and enjoy a casual and relaxing float down the Flint River.

We're incredibly honored to be chosen as a Torch Technologies, Torch Helps grant recipient! 🌟 This generous support will help us continue our mission of providing homes and keeping brothers and sisters together. Thank you, Torch Technologies, for believing in our cause and helping us make a difference! 🏡❤️

James Glenn is a rising junior studying Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University. He is interning for the i2 business unit, working on missile simulation and data visualization. He is coding in Python and utilizing C++ programs to simulate and visualize composable missile flights. James loves the impact everyone at Torch has and believes that even an intern can contribute to great projects with big implications in the defense industry.

His favorite intern event was the Trash Pandas game, where he enjoyed experiencing the energy and seeing the stadium for the first time. James hopes to make the most of the summer at Torch, producing useful tools for his team and gaining valuable experience and a broader worldview regarding his future career and living options. Outside of work, he enjoys being outside and catching up with friends, participating in activities such as hiking, lunch, runs, and coffee.

Torch Helps held a press conference yesterday to celebrate our Q1 and Q2 grant recipients. These organizations do great work in their communities and our employee owners are pleased to partner with them in their efforts. Congratulations to Village of Promise, The Caring Link, Locker #505 Student's Clothing Bank, Children in Crisis, Inc. Florida, Children's Advocacy Center of the Coastal Bend, Lawton Mobile Meals, A Bed 4 Me Foundation and Ithaka Housing!

A group of our summer interns recently toured the Torch Advanced Concepts Engineering (ACE) Technology Integration and Prototyping Center (TIPC). This provided the students with an inside look at Torch’s rapidly growing prototyping and manufacturing facilities including electronics and optics labs, TIPC high bay and prototyping shop, and the TIPC2 light manufacturing shop. The interns received a firsthand look at active work within the facilities, displaying capabilities available to support any project company wide. TIPC lab capabilities included cable assembly, wiring harness, printed circuit board (PDC), and optical sensor design, development and test. Within the TIPC prototyping shop and the TIPC2 light manufacturing high bay, the team also observed various machining tools and processes from 3- and 5-axis Computer Numerical Control mills to the laser cutter and mill turn. As these students quickly learned, there is exciting work at Torch as we support today’s Warfighter.

Nilan is a rising sophomore currently attending The University of Alabama in Huntsville, working on a degree in Computer Science. He is currently working in the ACE group for the Strategic Systems Business Unit, developing a Large Language Model that uses user-supplied documents to answer questions without an internet connection.

Nilan mentioned that while applying for internships and asking friends and classmates about their experiences, Torch was repeatedly mentioned. People told him how well the company treats its employees and the various benefits, such as the employee-ownership program. The company’s reputation for having a great work environment was a significant factor for him when applying to various companies. His entire interviewing and hiring process was extremely friendly and transparent, a welcome surprise compared to other companies he interviewed with.

His favorite event so far has been the intern panel. Hearing advice from full-time employees and former interns was really helpful, making him feel more comfortable knowing that others had the same feelings and thoughts when they were interns. Nilan aims to finish the summer with a fully functional prototype of his project and hopes that by working on such a large and difficult project, he will improve his skills as a programmer.

Outside of work and school, weightlifting has always been a big part of his life and it is something he is passionate about. He also played varsity football throughout high school, so staying active is still a big part of who he is. Additionally, he participates in the UAH Space Hardware Club. Recently, his team returned from an international competition in Virginia, where they placed first in the U.S. and second worldwide out of over 40 teams.

Torch STEPs was pleased to host Jason Parks (https://jasonparks.us/) for a professional development workshop last week that focused on growing as a leader. Thanks to Jason for a wonderful presentation and for sharing your “anything is possible” attitude with us.
development

We are thrilled to be named as a contender in the Engineering/Defense Business of the Year – Large category for the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber’s Small Business Awards! Winners will be announced September 12.