SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. –A South Charleston business owner has been named the 2026 West Virginia Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Madhur Bedre, founder and CEO of Atlas Prediction Control LLC, received the honor last week. The company is based at the West Virginia Technology Park along Union Carbide Drive in South Charleston.
The SBA gives the award to a small business owner in each state who exemplifies innovation, resilience, and community impact.
Bedre told MetroNews he is honored and privileged to receive the award, adding that it also reflects his team’s efforts.
“The award is in recognition of our business growth, our community involvement, and the impact that we have from a technical side, from being a rural Appalachian technology firm,” he said.
Bedre founded Atlas Prediction Control LLC, an engineering and technology firm, in February 2019. The company specializes in advanced process control, predictive analytics, and artificial intelligence solutions for the chemical and plastics industries.
“We work with complex operations in chemical plants or polymer plants, and we work on the software and the systems that help to run these plants reliably, efficiently, smoothly and there’s a safety aspect to it,” Bedre said.
He also said the company works closely with customers and has completed projects around the world, including in more than 20 countries over the past five years.
The company’s biggest clients are The Dow Chemical Company and W.R. Grace.
Bedre, who came to the United States in 2010, earned his master’s degree from West Virginia University before beginning work at The Dow Chemical Company.
He said he first pitched the idea to Dow’s customers and gained confidence in developing Atlas based on their responses.
“The customers very happy with the approach that we were taking and that was enough confidence for me to start working on Atlas and that’s the genesis for, when I started the business, I saw there were opportunities and that was something I wanted to for myself,” Bedre said.
He said that when he was starting the business, he faced some uncertainty regarding Atlas.
However, he said he received significant encouragement and support from community resources, the City of Charleston, and the West Virginia Technology Park in launching the company.
“All of these different community members and in sounding, they had a number of people and resources available which helped me to remove some of the uncertainty or at least make more educated guesses early on,” Bedre said.
He said the company currently has 11 employees, all chemical engineers from across the nation.
Bedre said he has a strong team at Atlas.
“They all joined that mission of supporting these complex chemical plants, but then also being involved in the community and that small town perspective, so we have a strong team and we continue to grow,” he said.
Bedre, who said he relied on community support, encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs to lean on similar resources when starting a business.
“From mentors, from government organizations, from local chambers and those opportunities, those are really really possible if you go for them with the support of your ecosystems and environment,” he said.
Bedre, along with other state winners, will travel to Washington, D.C., on May 3 for a recognition ceremony in celebration of National Small Business Week. The SBA will also announce the National Small Business Person of the Year.