Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) and Johnson Financial Group announced on Wednesday the eight products moving on in the eighth annual Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest. The eight Wisconsin-made products each won a head-to-head matchup in the Top 16 bracket-style tournament known as Manufacturing Madness.
The Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest aims to highlight Wisconsin’s manufacturing industry, which employs nearly half a million people and creates almost $70 billion in economic output each year.
The Top 8 products moving on will compete in head-to-head matchups once again to determine the Top 4. Those four products will compete in one final popular vote round to determine the ultimate winner. WMC will announce the 2023 Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin on Oct. 19 at Business Day in Madison.
The top eight finalists include:
- Bevi Bottleless Water Dispenser (No. 1 seed, Plexus Corp. of Neenah);
- Applewood Smoked Bacon (No. 2 seed, Neuske’s Applewood Smoked Meats of Wittenberg);
- Ariens 90th Anniversary Limited Edition Sno-Thro (No. 3 seed, AriensCo of Brillion);
- Jolly Good Soda (No. 6 seed, Krier Foods of Random Lake);
- Gator XUV 835R Signature Edition (No. 8 seed, John Deere Horicon Works of Horicon);
- String Cheese (No. 10 seed, Cedar Valley of Belgium);
- American Heritage 6” Tobacco Safety Toe Work Boot (No. 12 seed, Thorogood of Merrill); and
- Skee-Ball (No. 13 seed, Bay Tek Entertainment Inc. of Pulaski).
Voting in the next round will begin on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 8 a.m. and continue until Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 5 p.m. Individuals can vote online once per day, per device in all four matchups.
