MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – The third of four semifinals of the PitchMI competition took place Thursday afternoon at NMU’s Northern Center.
Of its events in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Marquette, and Detroit, each competition centers around a different field. This time, five startup companies from across the state presented their Advanced Manufacturing, Materials, and Outdoor Innovations to a panel of four judges. These came after hundreds of applications to the MSU Research Foundation and Michigan Economic Development Corporation, who put on the event.
The winner of the $425,000 grand prize was Ann Arbor based company OmegaCool, a company about a year and a half in the making, who’s product hopes to change the game of metalworking fluids.
“This really jumpstarts the company, we’ll be able to deploy immediately more sales reps and we’ll be able to use the media attention to open more doors,” said OmegaCool President Jim Burton. “Michigan is a unique place, and if we can continue to make it an ecosystem that works together and collaborates, we’ve got something very special.”
OmegaCool will move on to a state championship in April, to compete for a $1 million title.
