LOUISVILLE, Ky. (February 13, 2009)--An innovative recycling concept developed by a team of University of Louisville Entrepreneurship MBA students bested three other new “green business” concepts to win the Midwest Regional competition in the second annual Walmart Better Living Business Plan Challenge.

     The UofL team “necoPlastics” will advance to Walmart’s semi-finals in Bentonville, Arkansas, April 16-17, for a chance to reach the finals and win up to $20,000. Their patented technology would create a new recycled plastic resin from mixed waste plastics, redirecting waste from landfills and lowering the cost of manufacturing many plastic items.
     “This is a huge endorsement of our concept,” said necoPlastics team leader Charles Price.  “It gives us the momentum we need to go to the next level.”
     In addition to Price, the necoPlastics team includes Whitney Austin, Steve Flaherty, Nick Jacoby and Jason Wade.  Their faculty advisors are Cobb Family Professor of Entrepreneurship Van G.H. Clouse and Executive in Residence Suzanne Bergmeister.
     One of eight regions, the Midwest competition was hosted by the UofL College of Business and included teams from Lipscomb University, Purdue University and the University of Michigan.  The national competition was created by Walmart to encourage development of sustainable business concepts and challenge the environmental awareness of the next generation of entrepreneurs.  Nationwide, student teams from more than 40 universities competed.
     “This project has been wonderfully successful,” said Jim Stanway, competition director and senior director, Global Supply Chain, for Walmart.  “The value is far beyond simply raising awareness—it’s introduced us to people we need to have relationships with.”
     In addition to Stanway, regional competition judges included Rob Kaplan, VP of corporate social responsibility for Brown-Forman Corporation; Kevin Flanery, VP national public affairs for Churchill Downs; Matt Janson, VP marketing, QRS Recycling; and Greg Smith, partner, Ulmer & Berne LLP. 
     The group unanimously praised the plans and presenters for their innovation and enthusiasm. “It was extremely difficult choosing the winner,” said Stanway.  “In fact, the best idea didn’t win -- the best team did.”
     Michigan’s “e-Scrap Peru” concept proposed to transform that country’s disposal process of toxic electronic waste into a profitable public service.  Purdue’s “SiMetal” plan for manufacturing a revolutionary LED lighting chip was projected to produce 26,000 megawatts a day in energy savings.  Lipscomb University’s “Footprint Reduction Associates” team focused on creating a unique partnership with Walmart to use its facilities as a resource for boosting both consumer recycling and store profits.
     Michigan team members were Eric Rosenthal and Carlos Carranza.  The Purdue team was comprised of Samir Sahoo, Joe Barwick, Jimmy Cruse and Isaac Wildeson. Lipscomb’s team included Will Paddock, Jeff Cundiff, Juliana Lezama, Preston Clark and Faculty Advisor Dodd Galbreath.
     Stanway will serve as the UofL coach for the semi-finals and also the finals, should the team advance that far.  Finals’ judges include Walmart CEO H. Lee Scott, Jr. and other of the company’s top executives.
     "From this point on, the competition is less like an academic exercise and more like the real world," said Stanway. "The prize money is only a small part of the value to the winners."