Missouri Small Business and Technology Development Centers Blog

Mary Paulsell is the writer and editor of The Entrepreneur Next Door Blog. She will introduce you to some of Missouri’s most interesting entrepreneurs, share some amazing stories of entrepreneurial success and impart a bit of helpful information along the way. In addition, our team of seasoned and expert business counselors is available to assist you at any time. Your success is our business.

It’s a long way from Gardendale, Ala., to Oslo, Norway. But if a boy from Alabama has something Norwegians want, the trip can be fast and simple.

Rusty Sutterlin found that out a couple of months ago when he was flown to Norway’s capital city for a meeting with a man described as “the Bill Gates of Norway.”

“I could see the king’s castle out of my hotel window,” Sutterlin said. “It was very cool.”

And the Norwegians treated Sutterlin like a king because he does have something they want: the technology to keep their vodka at a consistent temperature.

It all begins with homegrown soybeans.

Sutterlin is the CEO of a University of Missouri-Columbia spin-off company called Renewable Alternatives. Founded by Galen Suppes, MU professor of chemical engineering, Renewable Alternatives uses natural substances -– such as soybean oil – in a variety of combinations to maintain consistent temperatures in things such as coffee mugs, flight suits and, as it turns out, bottles of vodka. (more…)