Thirty brilliant young minds from eight Kentucky universities came together today at the second annual Alltech Innovation Competition at Bluegrass Community & Technical College in Lexington, Kentucky to present their business ideas for creating jobs in the Commonwealth and improving the food and agribusiness industries.

If you’ve ever watched ABC’s “Shark Tank,” you know the stakes are high for the competitors – impress the judges, and earn the chance to make your business dream come true. With $20,000 from Alltech in total cash prizes at stake, students prepared intently for months leading up to the competition to develop innovative ideas and deliver comprehensive, awe-inspiring business plans in their presentations to wow judges and potential Kentucky investors who could ultimately fund their projects.

Last year, the grand prize of $10,000 – the same amount of money that Dr. Pearse Lyons initially invested to found Alltech in 1980 -- went to the University of Kentucky team for their idea for reclaiming mountaintops with switchgrass for fuel.

But were they able to maintain their dominion at the top?

This year’s results may evoke comments on the long-established state-wide basketball rivalry, as the school’s fierce rival, U of L, took home the top title with Trifecta Cooking Equipment’s patented FuturFry deep fryer. The patented technology will help restaurant operators save 40 percent on annual cooking oil costs by extending the life of cooking oil, and increasing energy efficiency. 

When presenting the $10,000 check to the team, Dr. Pearse Lyons said, “It wasn’t oil or using less energy that caught mine and the judges’ attention. It was the possibility that this innovation has to improve food production all around the world.”  

Congratulations to the winning team. We look forward to seeing the results of your implementation and wish you continued success. Kudos also to the runner-up for the grand prize, Morehead State University, who presented Omega-3 enriched pork from The Better Pork Company.  

And don’t fret UK fans, the University of Kentucky still took home the “Alltech Choice Award,” recognizing their excellence in innovation for their business, Arymza Technologies, which produces enzymes that assist in the processing of starch.

As Dr. Lyons stated in his closing remarks, because of the winning team’s success, and the success of the teams from all eight universities that presented today, the state of Kentucky is the true winner. Today, our great state came away with eight incredible innovative ideas from eight universities from across the Commonwealth, and now it’s integral that we keep these bright young students in our state to ensure innovation in Kentucky will continue to race forward. For more information on the Alltech Innovation Competition, visit http://www.alltech.com/education/university/alltech-innovation-competition.

To see more photos from the event see the album on Alltech's Facebook page.

[Dunboyne, Ireland.] – Global animal health and nutrition company Alltech is delighted to announce the 2014 winner of the Alltech Innovation Competition hosted at its European headquarters, Dunboyne, Co. Meath. Waterford Institute of Technology student John Kennedy was awarded the overall prize for his outstanding competition entry - Field Buddy. The concept android app, Field Buddy, will allow farmers to avail of GPS technology when fertilising their fields. A total of six universities battled for the prize fund of €4,000 while runners-up each received a cheque for €1,000. Waterford Institute of Technology’s winning entry showcased a concept that has the potential to improve costs and efficiencies on farm while encouraging sustainable environmental practices.

Facilitated by Professor Damien McLoughlin, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, the competition celebrates business and entrepreneurship, and challenges the creative minds of university students. Teams from University College Dublin, Dublin City University, Dublin Institute of Technology, Trinity College Dublin, Waterford Institute of Technology and University of Limerick each presented forward thinking business plans on their innovative ideas in the areas of agriculture, distilling, human health and long term environmental sustainability.

The competition was opened by Dr. Aofe Lyons, director of education initiatives at Alltech and judged by Frank Mulrennan, CEO of Celtic Media Group, Constantin Gurdgiev, economist and lecturer at Trinity College Dublin and Declan Coyle, one of Ireland’s most internationally experienced leadership and development consultants.

“These young people are a reflection of the talent and potential that Ireland has to offer” said Dr. Aoife Lyons. “Alltech are known for working with our customers to identify problems and providing natural solutions. This year’s competition entrants displayed real insight, talent and knowledge. By combining academic expertise with innovation each group had a potentially viable product to bring to market”.

The concepts presented by the university finalists were as follows:

University College Dublin – Crateless – a revolutionary pig farrow

Dublin City University – Twist & Go – an innovative new baby bottle concept

Dublin Institute of Technology – Canu Cover – a waterproof & biodegradable cover for cannulas

Trinity College Dublin – Down to Earth - environmental sustainability lectures for children

University of Limerick – Yeats Vodka - an Irish super premium vodka

Waterford Institute of Technology – Field Buddy – an android app for GPS spraying of fertiliser

Alltech continues to work with Irish universities to ensure the development of talented and educated Irish agri-business graduates. Last year’s winners, AgTeCH4 from the University of Limerick, won the overall prize with their personal gas detector, a device designed to detect poisonous gasses released from slurry on farms. AgTeCH4 are currently developing their company through University College Cork's Graduate Business Innovation Programme 2014, IGNITE. AgTeCH4 is hoping to launch their product on the market later this year and is currently undertaking research for the development of future devices.

On April 14, 2015, The Alltech European Headquarters in Dunboyne, Ireland will host the third Alltech Innovation Competition. Six teams from some of Ireland’s top universities will go head to head with plans to boost the innovation and economic potential of the food and agricultural industry in Ireland.

The Alltech Innovation Competition celebrates business and entrepreneurship, and challenges the creative minds of undergraduate and graduate students. Participating teams prepare forward-thinking business plans on innovative ideas in food and agribusiness that will improve economies, create jobs, elevate efficiencies and foster sustainable practices. €9000 in prize funds are on the line, with the first place team receiving €4000 to inject into a potential business start up; this is the approximate amount with which Dr. Pease Lyons built Alltech, 35 years ago in Kentucky, now a company with more than $1 billion in sales annually.

Last year’s winner was a sole entrant from WIT, John Kennedy who presented an innovative android app “Field Buddy” which would track the amount of fertilizer used in their field using a GPS system. The app would provide economical benefit to the farmer and have a positive environmental impact as it will reduce fertilizer waste.

The participating universities for the 2015 competition include:

• University College Dublin
• Trinity College Dublin
• Dublin Institute of Technology
• Dublin City University
• University of Limerick
• National University of Ireland Maynooth

For more information please visit www.alltech.com/education and our Facebook page www.facebook.com/alltecheducation or join the conversation on Twitter @Alltech.  

[DUNBOYNE, Ireland] – The first Irish Alltech Innovation Competition 2013 saw six teams from five universities present business plans to a panel of judges, with the top prize awarded to the most viable venture. AgTech4, from the University of Limerick, won the overall prize of €4,000 with their personal gas detector, a device designed to detect poisonous gasses released from slurry on farms. This device has the potential to create jobs, bring business to Ireland and also to save lives across the globe.

Teams from the University of Limerick, Dublin Institute of Technology, University College Dublin, Dublin City University and Waterford Institute of Technology each presented a business plan for product or service of their own creation. Judges Frank Mulrennan, CEO of Celtic Media Group; Constantin Gurgiev, lecturer in finance from Trinity College Dublin and Declan Coyle, leadership consultant and director of Andec, were consistently impressed with the overall standard of the ventures.

Other business concepts included a custom car sticker company called Vinyl Styling; a compostable container for household waste called Tierrabox; an onsite test for pyrite in building materials called Silex; a BYO bottle filling station called Ishca, and a foot reviver from Synergy Foot Solutions.

The winning personal gas detector from AgTech4 is a portable device that can be strapped to the arm of a person going on-farm and will sound an alarm at in the presence of hydrogen sulphide and methane gas. These gasses are invisible and highly toxic, resulting in 23 deaths since 1996 and this device is sensitive enough to sound an alarm before any physical symptoms manifest.

“The range of ideas presented here was fantastic. All of these projects started with a serious problem and were combined with academic expertise to result in a product that is in some cases ready to go to market,” said Constantin Gurgiev. “If I had the funds in place I would have taken those ideas straight to pitch.”

Dr. Pearse Lyons found the overall competition encouraging, stating that “if we want hope for the future of our country all we have to do is look to the youth. If these young people are a reflection of the talent and potential that Ireland has to offer then we have nothing to worry about. This is where we need to put our investment and this is where the solutions will come from. This has been a fantastic start to Alltech’s Gathering initiatives and I wish the best of luck to all contestants in their future careers.”

[LEXINGTON, Ky.] – In May 2012, Alltech issued a challenge – create jobs in the Commonwealth, a state that ranks number one in its basketball prowess yet is the fifteenth worst for finding a job. On Saturday, three universities - University of Pikeville, University of Louisville and University of Kentucky – rose to that challenge at the Alltech Innovation Competition, proposing a diverse array of economic development solutions, ranging from switchgrass for fuel to aquaponics and modular housing.

The three student teams were asked to focus on the nine Eastern Kentucky counties of Bell, Floyd, Harlan, Johnson, Knott, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin and Pike. While Kentucky hovers just above the national unemployment rate of 7.9 percent at 8.1 percent in December 2012, some Eastern Kentucky counties have seen unemployment rates above 13 percent, nearly double that of the national base.

A panel of independent entrepreneurs and private investors selected the University of Kentucky as the $10,000 winner of the Alltech Innovation Competition. The UK team’s four MBA candidates – Lee Gage Goatley, Jarrod Willis, Jordan Denny and Jordan Laycock – proposed a plan for reclaiming mountaintop sites by growing switchgrass for fuel production. When the switchgrass is processed with a white rot fungus, butanol is produced as a by-product. While ethanol is the most popular fuel additive globally, it is corrosive, unable to be transported through pipelines, and it diverts corn from its use as an important food source. Butanol, on the other hand, is less corrosive, can be transported through pipelines and has a much higher concentration of BTUs.

With exclusive rights to technology developed by two University of Kentucky professors, the UK team’s TerraCast Technologies would target 104,925 acres of reclaimed mountaintop land in the nine Eastern Kentucky counties. Organic, sustainable, perennial and drought-tolerant, the switchgrass would provide additional income for Eastern Kentucky farmers, who would be contracted to seed and harvest.

The switchgrass would be processed with water, white rot fungi and soil microbes in an on-site fermentation bunker to produce acetate, butanol and ethanol. Acetate has marketability as a universal solvent used in cleaning supplies. The butanol, however, would be sold to specialty and petroleum companies for fuel production, a significant need given Kentucky’s 20 percent biofuel initiative and federal renewable fuel standards of 36 billion gallons by 2022.

“Ten thousand dollars, the top prize in today’s competition, is the exact amount with which we started Alltech, now almost a $1 billion company,” said Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech. “So I am eager to see what can be accomplished through the hard work and innovation of not only our winners from the University of Kentucky but all three teams. Kentucky, indeed the world, is ready for their ideas.”

The University of Louisville took home a second place prize of $6,000 for their EcoVision Development plan to construct multi-family, modular housing. The plan repurposes the master tradesmen from Kentucky’s now fledgling houseboat industry to construct the homes, which would be used to meet a significant need for affordable, energy-efficient housing in Eastern Kentucky. Inspired by prototypes from the University of Kentucky College of Design and Kentucky Highlands Investments, the homes would cost under $100,000 and require less than $1 per day of energy. The energy savings would increase the occupants’ disposable income funds by 5-9 percent.

The $4,000 third place award went to the University of Pikeville for their Appalachian Artisan Foods plan to utilize aquaponics for the local production of fresh, organic foods. The team devised a three-tier design to maximize use of greenhouse space for aquaponics. Shade vegetables including alfalfa would be grown on the first layer, beneath a second tier of ginseng and, ultimately, a top layer of hops and vines. Tilapia would also be raised within the greenhouse. The fresh produce and tilapia would be sold to wholesale food corporations in Kentucky, regional groceries and local restaurants. The ginseng, valued at $800 - $1500 per pound, would be sold internationally.

“The Innovation Competition was created because it is past time to balance the scales and cultivate a Kentucky that leads the nation not only in college sports but also employment,” said Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech. “Did the Innovation Competition live up to our expectations? Absolutely not. It dramatically exceeded our expectations, and I firmly believe this is only the beginning of something very special in our state.”