Plateau Energy Films, a company started by Mines
student Bill Trevillyan, a double major in chemical engineering and chemistry,
was awarded the first place in the student division. Pictured is David Owen, executive
director of the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Trevillyan and South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard.
RAPID CITY,
S.D. (April 13, 2018) – For the fourth year in a row, a South
Dakota School of Mines & Technology student earned top honor in the student division of the Governor’s Giant Vision Business
Competition held in Sioux Falls.
A second Mines
student team took home second place in the student division; and a third Mines
team tied for second in the business division.
Plateau Energy
Films, a company started by Mines student Bill Trevillyan, a double major in
chemical engineering and chemistry, was awarded the first place in the student
division. Plateau Energy Films produces and sells transparent energy saving
window films. As winner of the student division, he was awarded $5,000.
Plateau Energy Films also won the SD Mines 2017 CEO Student
Business Plan Competition in December, making this the first time a competitor
won both competitions. Trevillyan was recently awarded the prestigious Barry
Goldwater Scholarship and will be conducting undergraduate
research at Stanford University this summer.
Argent Bottles, a
company started by SD Mines student Abi Fuller, an industrial engineering and
engineering management major, placed second in the student division. Argent
Bottles makes travel water bottles designed
to accomplish military grade decontamination. As second place winner, she was awarded $4,000.
In the business division, SD
Mines students Nick Hutchinson and Tom Voboril tied for second place for their
business Hutchinson Car Audio. Both Hutchinson and Voboril are mechanical
engineering majors at Mines. Hutchinson Car Audio makes high end speakers for the
competitive auto sound industry. They were awarded $7,500.
Five teams
from SD Mines competed in the annual business competition, which is hosted by
the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce. The competition is held in conjunction
with the annual Governor’s Office of Economic Development Conference. Each
competitor presented their business idea privately to a panel of judge.