Madison Reporter

For the past decade, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), in partnership with Johnson Financial Group, has organized the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest. The annual event invites residents to vote for their favorite product manufactured in the state.

Since its launch, more than 1,000 products have been featured and over 1.5 million votes cast. Past winners include Harley Davidson’s Milwaukee-Eight engine from Wauwatosa, Oshkosh Defense’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle from Oshkosh, Henry Repeating Arms’ Big Boy rifle from Rice Lake, Pierce’s Volterra electric fire truck from Appleton, and Krier Foods’ Jolly Good soda from Random Lake.

Kurt R. Bauer of WMC noted that the contest's influence has spread beyond Wisconsin: “First, the concept has now been adopted by 25 other state chambers or manufacturers associations that conduct the Coolest Thing Made In their respective states. But it all started in Wisconsin with WMC and Johnson Financial Group.”

Bauer also highlighted the value manufacturers place on winning: “Second, winning the contest, along with the impressive trophy manufactured by EK in Fall River, has become highly coveted by Wisconsin manufacturers. Many put a lot of effort into promoting their product during the tournament we call Manufacturing Madness.”

According to Bauer, showcasing manufacturing is central to WMC’s mission: “But for WMC, declaring a winner isn’t the actual goal. The real purpose is to showcase Wisconsin’s thriving manufacturing sector, which accounts for just under 20 percent of the state’s GDP, contributes $73.7 billion to the state’s economy, and directly employs 480,000 Wisconsinites, or one in six workers. Manufacturing truly is Wisconsin’s economic super sector, and it deserves the publicity the contest delivers.”

Bauer added that even he learns something new each year about what is produced locally: “There are so many ‘cool’ things made in our state that too few Wisconsinites are aware of. In fact, I must confess that every year I am surprised to learn of something made in our state that I wasn’t aware of, and I am the head of the state manufacturers’ association!”

The contest also aims to address perceptions about manufacturing jobs: “But there is another important goal of the contest, and that is to highlight the great career opportunities manufacturing has to offer. Some people still see manufacturing jobs as they were in the distant past; as dumb, dirty, and dangerous. This couldn’t be further from the truth here in Wisconsin. Here we do advanced manufacturing and the jobs are high-tech high-skill and high-pay.”

The 2025 edition begins accepting nominations on August 25 at www.madeinwis.com with voting starting October 2. The winner will be announced live at Business Day on October 23 at Monona Terrace in Madison.