Blair Wissinger of Troy Develops New Product

2011 Jun 1

EVANSVILLE, IN (06/01/2011)(readMedia)--

The next new product from successful Evansville company Escalade Sports could be the fruit of Blair Wissinger's labor. Wissinger was one of six University of Evansville students participating in a hyper-intensive, two-week course designed to create a "viable, commercialized product" for the company to add to its existing product set.

Wissinger, a Finance major from Troy, VA, was enrolled in Business 380 (Applied Product Development) at the University. In the course's two-week run, students were charged with working full-time to develop the new product from scratch.

They made their final presentation to Escalade executives on Friday morning.

"This is an initiative designed to create an experiential learning opportunity that introduces elements of private-sector design and marketing strategies to UE's students," said Rick Deer, a local entrepreneur and graduate of UE's College of Engineering & Computer Science and its Executive Master of Business Administration program, who is serving as an adjunct instructor for the course. "On May 16, students started from scratch, with no knowledge of the project, or the company, for that matter.

"Since then, they have elevated themselves to the level where the outcome is very significant."

Deer taught the course with Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering John Layer. Additional funding for the project was provided by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., and the Kern Family Foundation.

The project began with a meeting between students and Escalade's director of product development, Mike Guerzini. At that meeting, they discussed key components and requirements for potentially launching a new product within the current Escalade portfolio. All of the students signed non-disclosure agreements to protect Escalade and the intellectual property that would be the final product of the project.

Students then were split into two teams, with both vying to create a superior product. Escalade's key management and engineering departments, led by four appointed judges, will select the winning project.

Along with the pride in having their project possibly go to market, the winning team will be awarded $1,000 by Escalade.

"What's most exciting about this product is that it isn't merely an academic endeavor," Layer said. "Escalade may take one or both of the products to market sometime in the future, and if they do, Blair and other students will be named as 'inventors' on any patent that is applied for in the process.

"This is a real-world experience for our students, and they have done a tremendous job."