Springs company honored by Ernst & Young
Colorado Springs-based Braxton Technologies has been named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
Braxton is one of seven firms in the Rocky Mountain region recognized for superior performance in innovation, financial growth and commitment to their community.
Awards in national categories will be announced Nov. 14 in Palm Springs, Calif.
Braxton is a software development company specializing in satellite ground command and control systems for government and commercial applications, including the GPS satellite constellation.
Founded in Pleasanton, Calif. in 1994, the company moved its headquarters here last summer when it was acquired by Springs-based The O’Neil Group.
“This is where our customer base is,” said Braxton CEO Frank Backes.
The Springs is home to Schriever Air Force Base, Peterson Air Force Base and several military aerospace firms.
During the next year, Backes predicts, the current work force of 60 employees will grow to more than 100. He expects revenue to increase 30 percent to 40 percent by 2010.
Backes credits the company’s commitment to public education, from grade school to college, as a factor in winning the award. During the application process, Ernst & Young judges examined Braxton’s educational contributions.
“We’re recruiting students to stay in the sciences,” Backes said.
Several times a year, Braxton sends engineers into schools with robotic satellites to give kids hands-on experience flying them.
The firm also supplies software for an Imagination Station in the new engineering building at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, he said.
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