CuRe Technology winner Drenthe Startup

With a big grin and a huge check in his hands, Mike de Lange steps out of the spotlight of the Atlas Theater in Emmen. The manager Research & Development of CuRe Technology has just been crowned winner by presenter Jort Kelder. ,,Really a very nice result that we have achieved,'' he thinks. ,,I was allowed to tell the story and I really enjoyed doing that, but in the end the team brought results.''

Disappointment

It was tense whether they would win. ''The other candidates also had a very good story.'' Moreover, the four-member jury was very critical and even after uncorking the champagne, after Kelder asked for a reaction, had some sharp comments for the winner. But that didn't spoil the fun.

There was also disappointment in this final. OWNER from Emmen just missed out on the title. And for Patrick Trentelman, the former teacher who came up with the idea for his startup SpaceTime Layers with his elementary school class, the disappointment was even greater. In his final pitch, he wanted to elaborate on the business side of his startup. ,,I noticed that the jury was curious about that last time.'' But unfortunately, once on stage, the jury of the semi-final turned out to have chosen him as the first loser and he was not allowed to pitch a second time. ''Yes, I really do regret this.''

Acknowledgment

For De Lange and his CuRe Technology, the win mainly means recognition. ,,We are convinced ourselves that we are doing something special, but it is nice that the initiative is also recognized by the jury. Recognition that we are indeed dealing with a problem that needs to be solved and for the hard work of the team.''

Especially when he talks about that team, De Lange begins to glow with delight. ,,We have a fantastic team with forty years of knowledge about how plastics are made. That experience is now being used to do the same process just the other way around, so it can all be reused. That's no piece of cake.'' De Lange, by the way, is not a good reflection of the age of the team, he tells himself, laughing. ''That's young, too. I'm just the spokesman today.'' CuRe employs a number of people who come directly from the area and did their training in Emmen, he says.