Rapid Radicals Technology LLC, a Milwaukee-based wastewater treatment firm that developed a system to prevent sewer overflows during storms, was the grand prize winner of the 19th annual Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest, according to a June 2 press release from the Wisconsin Technology Council.
The company’s treatment system is decentralized and combines rapid solids removal with an advanced oxidation process to remove organics and disinfect harmful bacteria and viruses. It can treat wastewater in less than 30 minutes compared with the eight hours it usually takes.
The system can be installed at wastewater treatment plants, at sewer outfall locations or in mobile units for disaster relief situations.
Founder and chief technology officer Paige Peters presented Wednesday for Rapid Radicals along with 12 other “Diligent (Baker’s) Dozen” finalists at the conference.
Peters founded the company in 2016 after working on the wastewater treatment concept as a civil engineering graduate student at Marquette University. She recently announced Dylan Waldhuetter would replace her as CEO after holding the position for six years, according to her LinkedIn page.
“Rapid Radicals was born of a flood in Milwaukee that frustrated homeowners, businesses and city officials alike,” said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, in the press release. “At a time when the resiliency of municipal water systems is vital, our judges saw the value of Rapid Radicals’ ability to dramatically speed up the cleaning of effluent.”
Independent judges recruited by the Wisconsin Technology Council heard pitches from finalists in four categories including advanced manufacturing, business services, information technology and life sciences. Rapid Radicals won the advanced manufacturing category.
The other category winners include:
- Stellar Tech Girls (business services): This Madison-based company led by founder Marina Bloomer offers engineering camps and other events that empower girls to see their potential as engineers. The programming is led by female engineering role models and aims to expose students to multiple engineering disciplines, including mechanical, civil, electrical, chemical and aerospace.
- HeyGov (information technology): This e-government management software company led by founder and CEO Dustin Overbeck of Sturgeon Bay allows cities to move their business from paper to an online format. HeyGov offers online tools for local citizens to report and track city issues, pay fees for taxes or utilities, fill out government forms and book municipal facilities.
- Cold Water Technologies (life sciences): This Verona-based company led by Jordan Sand created an alternative to traditional pill or injection-based medicine to treat dermatitis in dogs called “Dermigan,” a product that can be sprinkled on dog food.
The other finalists in the advanced manufacturing category were Madison-based ChloBis Water led by Margaret Lumley and La Crosse-based CompRex led by Zhijun Jia.
The business services category also included finalists Reinventauctions, a Fontana-based company led by Tom Wilkins that also won the contest’s “Bright New Idea” award, and Brookfield-based ContraDoc led by David Meyers.
Finalists for the information technology category were Madison-based FANTM led by Finn Kuusisto, Madison-based Angelo led by Ryan Brown and Kronenwetter-based Betterbin led by Michelle Goetsch.
Finalists for the life sciences category were Milwaukee-based My Hearing Care led by Santhosh Yegnaraman and Verona-based Contrast Dynamics led by Erick Oberstar.
The 13 finalists passed three rounds of judging since the contest began in January. More than three-quarters, or 77%, of finalists since the contest started in 2004 are still in business, according to the Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest website.
