​LINCOLN, Nebraska — September 25, 2024 —The field in the Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska competition has been set. Tens of thousands of votes were cast in the first round, shrinking the field from 16 products to eight.
 
The following Nebraska manufacturers and their products are among the top eight contenders.
• Valley Center Pivot, Valley Irrigation – A Valmont Company, Valley
• Barrel Aged Lord of Ord, Scratchtown Brewing Company, Ord
• Toilet Paper, Outlook Nebraska, Omaha
• Autonomous Feed Truck, ALA Engineering, Scottsbluff
• 9mm Luger +P Critical Duty, Hornady, Grand Island
• Hand-Painted Wallpaper, Vahallan, Lincoln
• Convertible Checkout Counter, Lozier, Omaha
• Insulin Syringes, embecta, Holdrege
Descriptions of each product and its manufacturer can be found here.

​Public voting for the top eight products in the bracket-style competition is now open and will be held Wednesday, September 25, through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, September 29. Manufacturers, students and all Nebraskans are invited to vote for their favorite product manufactured in Nebraska each week here. Each voter is permitted one vote per matchup, per round.
 
“It’s exciting to watch the votes roll in and see results begin to take shape,” said Mike Johnson, NE Chamber COO & EVP of Manufacturing. “These eight products are all so unique and perfectly represent the diversity of Nebraska’s Manufacturing sector.”
 
The contest, hosted by the NE Manufacturing Alliance and powered by the NE Chamber, celebrates the state’s thriving manufacturing industry with Nebraska residents, students, educators, community leaders, manufacturers and especially, the more than 100,000 Nebraska makers working in manufacturing every day.
 
The tournament leads Nebraskans into the annual celebration of NE Manufacturing Month this October. The Coolest Thing will be announced October 29 at the NE Chamber’s Manufacturing Summit in La Vista, where the top 16 finalists are invited to display their products.

LINCOLN, Nebraska — September 11, 2024 — Voting for Round 1 of the third annual “Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska” competition is officially open.  Votes can be cast here.
 
Public voting for the top 16 products in the bracket-style competition will be held Wednesday, September 11, through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, September 22. Manufacturers, students and all Nebraskans are invited to vote for their favorite product manufactured in Nebraska each week through the month of September at nemanufacturingalliance.com.  Each voter is permitted one vote per matchup, per round.
 
The following Nebraska manufacturers and their products are among the top 16 contenders.
​
• Valley Center Pivot, Valley Irrigation – A Valmont Company, Valley
• Barrel Aged Lord of Ord, Scratchtown Brewing Company, Ord
• Toilet Paper, Outlook Nebraska, Omaha
• Autonomous Feed Truck, ALA Engineering, Scottsbluff
• 9mm Luger +P Critical Duty, Hornady, Grand Island
• Conti SilentSync, ContiTech, Lincoln
• Hand-Painted Wallpaper, Vahallan, Lincoln
• Convertible Checkout Counter, Lozier, Omaha
• Grandma’s Fruitcake, Beatrice Bakery Company, Beatrice
• Sugar, Western Sugar Cooperative, Scottsbluff
• Insulin Syringes, Embecta, Holdrege
• Marble Pack-Off, Marble Technologies, Lincoln
• USB Charger, Lester Electrical, Lincoln
• Simply Sunflower Oil, Simply Sunflower, Ord
• BonnaVilla Modular Home, Chief Industries, Aurora
• MIRA - miniRAS, Virtual Incision, Lincoln
​
Descriptions of each product and its manufacturer can be found here.
 
The contest, hosted by the NE Manufacturing Alliance and powered by the NE Chamber, celebrates the state’s thriving manufacturing industry with Nebraska residents, students, educators, community leaders, manufacturers and especially, the more than 100,000 Nebraska makers working in manufacturing every day.
 
The tournament leads Nebraskans into the annual celebration of NE Manufacturing Month this October. The Coolest Thing will be announced October 29 at the NE Chamber’s Manufacturing Summit in La Vista, where the top 16 finalists are invited to display their products.

LINCOLN, Nebraska — September 3, 2024 — The top 16 products in the third annual “Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska” contest have been announced.

Public voting for the top 16 products in the bracket-style competition will be held Wednesday, September 11, through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, September 22 with advanced rounds to follow. Manufacturers, students and all Nebraskans are invited to vote for their favorite product manufactured in Nebraska each week through the beginning of October at nemanufacturingalliance.com.

The contest, hosted by the NE Manufacturing Alliance and powered by the NE Chamber, celebrates the state’s thriving manufacturing industry with Nebraska residents, students, educators, community leaders, manufacturers and especially, the more than 100,000 Nebraskans working in manufacturing every day.

The following Nebraska manufacturers and their products made it to the top 16.

• Valley Center Pivot, Valley Irrigation – A Valmont Company, Valley
• Barrel Aged Lord of Ord, Scratchtown Brewing Company, Ord
• Toilet Paper, Outlook Nebraska, Omaha
• Autonomous Feed Truck, ALA Engineering, Scottsbluff
• 9mm Luger +P Critical Duty, Hornady, Grand Island
• Conti SilentSync, ContiTech, Lincoln
• Hand-Painted Wallpaper, Vahallan, Lincoln
• Convertible Checkout Counter, Lozier, Omaha
• Grandma’s Fruitcake, Beatrice Bakery Company, Beatrice
• Sugar, Western Sugar Cooperative, Scottsbluff
• Insulin Syringes, Embecta, Holdrege
• Automated Meat Processing System, Marble Technologies, Lincoln
• USB Charger, Lester Electrical, Lincoln
• Simply Sunflower Oil, Simply Sunflower, Ord
• BonnaVilla Modular Home, Chief Industries, Aurora
• MIRA - miniRAS, Virtual Incision, Lincoln

“The Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska competition is a great way to bring awareness to Nebraska’s diverse and abundant manufacturing sector,” said Mike Johnson, NE Chamber Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Manufacturing. “It’s so impressive to see all of the incredible things made right here in Nebraska, and we’re thrilled to be sharing the third year of this competition with all Nebraskans.”
​
The tournament will once again lead Nebraskans into the annual celebration of NE Manufacturing Month this October. The Coolest Thing will be announced October 29 at the NE Chamber’s Manufacturing Summit in La Vista, where finalists will be invited to display their products. Registration for the event will be available soon on the NE Chamber’s Event page.