OSU students win big with “Cold Bottle Designs”

Stillwater, Ok. -- Oklahoma State University seniors Joseph Pruitt and Blake Ferrell have won big, earning the $20,000 top prize at the statewide Governor's Cup competition for a business plan that could help change the way cold drinks are bottled.

The pair of Stillwater natives placed first in the undergraduate division of the entrepreneurial competition with a proposal for a super insulated, environmentally-friendly, disposable bottle that keeps drinks cold much longer than current containers.
 
“For example, the bottle of Coke you buy at the convenience store will have extra insulation already built in that will keep your beverage cold for up to four times longer,” said Pruitt. “The beautiful thing about the bottle is that you don’t have to pay any extra for it because no new equipment is needed in making the improved product."
 
Pruitt, a mechanical and aerospace engineering major at OSU, came up with the idea, and Ferrell, an accounting major, helped write the business plan for the new technology business they call “Cold Bottle Designs.” The technology allows plastic bottle manufacturers to add thermal insulation to their disposable beverage bottles with no additional costs for equipment or manufacturing.

Both Ferrell and Pruitt say they are actively looking for people in the industry who might be interested in applying their technology and the Governor’s Cup competition has already been a help.
 
“We've made some great contacts already with people in industry that wouldn't have been possible without the Governor's Cup,” said Pruitt.
 
“The feedback has been very positive,” added Ferrell. “The Governor’s Cup has been a great experience that could possibly help lead to bigger and better things for Cold Bottle Designs in the very near future.”
 
Dr. Tom Brown, Ardmore Professor of Business Administration and professor of marketing in the Spears School of Business at OSU, served as an advisor for Pruitt and Ferrell. “I really wish I could take some credit for what these young men have accomplished, but my job was mostly to just stay out of their way. This is a remarkable achievement for them,”said Brown.
 
The Governor’s Cup competition is designed to communicate a message to students that innovations leading to thriving homegrown businesses are valued and will be recognized. The competition is funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named.  i2E, Inc., a private not for profit corporation, manages the competition.

OSU seniors (left to right) Joseph Pruitt and Blake Ferrell won $20,000 in a statewide competition by submitting a business plan for the manufacture of environmentally friendly bottles that keep beverages cool up to four times longer.

OSU seniors and Stillwater natives, Joseph Pruitt and Blake Ferrell, are named as the first place undergraduate winning team of the 2006 Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup. First Lady Kim Henry and i2E president Greg Main present Pruitt, Ferrell and their adviser Dr. Tom Brown, Spears School of Business, with the $20,000 cash award.

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