Top 16 competitors announced for ‘Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska’ contest

​LINCOLN, Nebraska — August 28, 2023 — The top 16 contenders in the second 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 Tuesday, August 29, through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, September 4. 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.
 
The contest, hosted by the NE Manufacturing Alliance and powered by the NE Chamber and Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) – together with your local public power utility, 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 tournament.

• Carbon Fiber Ducting for CH-53k King Stallion Helicopter, Royal Engineered Composites, Minden
• Chocolate Meltaways, Bakers Candies, Greenwood
• Costco Rotisserie Chicken, Lincoln Premium Poultry, Fremont
• Endicott Invisi-Lug Clay Paver, Endicott Clay Products Company, Endicott
• Fire Truck, Danko Emergency Equipment, Snyder
• Flyover Whiskey, Flyover Whiskey, West Point
• Geothermal Greenhouse, Greenhouse in the Snow-Antioch Machine Shop, Alliance
• Handcrafted Soap and Experiential Bath Products, Pacha Soap Co., Hastings
• Ignis, Drone Amplifed, Lincoln
• M Grills Big M Smoker, Kinney Manufacturing LLC, Beatrice
• Pond-Tini Pontoon Boat, Ag Dryer Services, Elm Creek
• Ram Air Turbine (RAT) Hub, Collins Aerospace, York
• Rocket Mobility All-Terrain Tracked Wheelchair, Rocket Mobility, Columbus
• Solution Plastics Lumber, Firstar Fiber, Inc., Omaha
• Steel Joists, Nucor Vulcraft Nebraska, Norfolk
• T-Rex Portable Basketball Systems, Bison Inc., Lincoln

 
“We are more than excited to launch the second year of this fun, public and friendly competition,” said Mike Johnson, NE Chamber Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Manufacturing. “It’s all about highlighting the cool things made right here in our own backyards and the proud, skilled, innovative, and hardworking Nebraskans — our neighbors – who make them. We are calling everyone to vote to crown the Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska!”
 
The tournament will once again lead Nebraskans into the annual celebration of NE Manufacturing Month this October. The champion will be announced October 10 at the NE Chamber’s Manufacturing Summit in La Vista, where the finalists will also be invited to display their products.
 
“It’s great seeing industries from all over the state represented in this year’s contest, along with a diverse mix of products that many people may not know are made right in their community,” says NPPD Economic Development Manager Nicole Sedlacek. “NPPD and our wholesale power partners are proud to be able to help highlight these businesses that are doing incredible work and making cool products used across the country and the world.”

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About NE Manufacturing Alliance
Five statewide manufacturing groups have pledged to coordinate efforts to grow manufacturing and STEM workforce in Nebraska over the next decade. Learn more at nemanufacturingalliance.com.