Chippewa Economic Development Corporation was tasked with finding a team to represent Chippewa County in the Make48 Event hosted by UW-Stout. Make48 is a 48-hour competition where teams are presented with a challenge and tasked to build a physical prototype, create a sales sheet, produce a 1-minute marketing video, and pitch their big idea to solve a challenge to a panel of judges.
CEDC Board Member Alan Coopman and CEO Charlie Walker believed that members of Team 5826 Avis Automata robotics club from Chippewa Falls Senior High School – coached by Dr. Tim Wolter – would be a perfect fit to represent Chippewa County for the long-running 48-hour competition. Sponsored and coached by engineers from TTM Technologies, students were picked from this group to form the Chippewa Falls Make48 Team – Boards ‘N Bots.
UW-Stout hosted their first ever Make48 competition and provided the Fab Lab, access to expert tool technicians, high-tech equipment, and support for the teams competing in the challenge. Boards ‘N Bots competed with other teams from Altoona, Menomonie, Amery, Neillsville and St. Croix Central on October 27-29 at UW-Stout for a cash prize and scholarships to UW-Stout.
Students Brett Schaeffer, Megan Schutte, and Elleana Kenney from Chippewa Falls High School (Chi-Hi) made up the Boards ‘N Bots Team. Coached by Everett Sarauer, a process engineer with TTM Technologies in Chippewa Falls. Their challenge was to address rainwater conservation. The challenge sponsor was 3M Menomonie, and they wanted a product that could recycle rainwater.
“The Chippewa Team was outstanding! I really didn’t have to do much coaching at all,” Sarauer said. “I had to keep reminding myself that they were high school students, they were so talented and so professional. The biggest roadblock was just coming up with an idea that solved the challenge-but once we had an idea, we dove right in.”
For winning the best design in the Make48 competition- Boards ‘n Bots received a trophy and $2,000. In addition, Elleana Kenney, Brett Schaeffer, and Megan Schutte of Chippewa Falls High School’s were each awarded a $1,000 scholarship to UW-Stout.
The UW-Stout competition was Make48’s first Career Pathways Event. UW-Stout’s involvement was a “testament to the university’s dedication to fostering innovation, applied ‘hands-on learning’ and collaboration to address real-world problems” said Seth Hudson, executive director of UW-Stout Corporate Relations and Economic Engagement.
CEDC and TTM Technologies sponsored, supported, and promoted the Make48 event. TTM is a leading global technology solutions and PCB manufacturer with a significant presence in the Chippewa Valley.
“TTM stands for time-to-market, representing how TTM’s time-critical, one-stop manufacturing services enable customers to shorten the time required to develop new products and bring them to market.” Noted CEDC Board member Alan Coopman of TTM Technologies “TTM’s involvement serves as a testament to the value we place of fostering innovation.”