Northern Panhandle Firm Leader In Advanced Materials R&D

Researchers and engineers at an Ohio County laboratory have developed a new aluminum and fiber composite that is light enough to cut the weight of a bicycle frame by half but strong enough, company officials say, to serve as a fuel tank for a rocket. Touchstone Research Laboratory in Triadelphia, W.Va. produces a composite called MetPreg, which is three times stronger than pure aluminum. Aluminum oxide fibers that are thinner than a human hair are impregnated into the aluminum to make up half of the composite's mix, said Touchstone co-owner Brian Joseph.

Touchstone has several government contracts to produce MetPreg products, like mortar tubes, rocket motor casings and rocket fuel tanks, said the company's senior program manager, Brian Gordon. Joseph believes that MetPreg could help scientists develop a satisfactory way of carrying hydrogen fuel, saying that MetPreg can withstand more pressure than conventional fuel tank materials.

Touchstone was included in R&D magazine's "R&D 100" awards for 2005, which is part of the September issue. The company also won the award last year for its carbon foam composite, a fireproof product made from West Virginia coal that can be used in ships, airplanes, fuel cells and panic rooms.