Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) — the combined state chamber and manufacturers’ association — partnered with Johnson Financial Group to announce in a recent press release this year’s Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin: the Bevi Bottleless Water Dispenser, manufactured by Plexus Corp. of Appleton. Plexus was crowned the winner at WMC’s annual Business Day event on Thursday in Madison.
WMC and Johnson Financial Group have partnered for eight years to host the statewide contest, and the competition has drawn over 1.3 million votes since its inception. This year, over 187,000 votes were cast to determine the ultimate winner.
Over 100 products were nominated for the contest this year, representing dozens of manufacturing sub-sectors and each corner of the state. After an initial popular vote round and a bracket-style tournament known as “Manufacturing Madness,” four finalists competed for the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin trophy.
The Bevi Bottleless Water Dispenser is a smart water dispenser that offers on-demand filtered, flavored, and sparkling water with a mission to reduce plastic water bottle consumption. Users have saved over 400 million single-use plastic bottles to date.
