Wisconsin manufacturers and everyday residents can now submit nominations for the 11th annual Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest, a statewide bracket-style competition that pits everything from soda to search-and-rescue airboats against each other for bragging rights. Nominations opened Monday and can be submitted online at www.madeinwis.com, with products of any size company eligible for consideration.
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce is hosting the competition, as reported by FOX6 News Milwaukee. Manufacturers and members of the public can submit entries covering a wide swath of the state's industrial output, including consumer goods, agricultural innovations, advanced technologies, and industrial equipment. A public vote will eventually narrow the field down to the top 16 products, which then compete head-to-head in what organizers call the bracket-style Manufacturing Madness tournament.
WMC President Kurt R. Bauer said the contest spotlights the innovation and talent that make Wisconsin a manufacturing powerhouse, according to the station's report. Once the bracket narrows, residents, employees, and fans of individual products can vote daily as the field shrinks, a format that has drawn thousands of voters from across the state in past years, per the same account.
A New Sponsor Joins the Bracket
This year's competition also comes with a notable behind-the-scenes shift: BMO has taken over as the presenting partner for the 2026 contest, according to Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. BMO steps into a role held for the contest's first decade by Johnson Financial Group, which co-hosted the tournament alongside WMC from 2016 through 2025.
The contest itself was created by WMC in 2016 as the nation's first statewide manufacturing bracket contest, a format that has since been adopted by business chambers and trade associations in 25 other states, as noted by the Alliance for American Manufacturing. Since its launch, the contest has highlighted Wisconsin manufacturing's ingenuity and economic impact, drawing nearly 2 million total votes across more than 1,000 nominated products between 2016 and 2025.
Last Year's Winner Set the Bar High
Last October, the 10th annual title went to the Search and Rescue Airboat built by 1000 Island Airboats in Marion, Wisconsin, chosen from nearly 150 nominated products, according to WNCY. Those specialized airboats can transition between open water and ice to help emergency responders during severe winter rescues. Past champions have run the gamut of the state's industrial base, from Harley-Davidson's Milwaukee-Eight engine in 2016 and Oshkosh Corp's Joint Light Tactical Vehicle in 2017 to Pierce Manufacturing's Volterra Electric Fire Truck in 2022 and Krier Foods' Jolly Good Soda in 2024, as detailed by FOX6 News Milwaukee.
The winner receives a custom chrome trophy designed and fabricated by EK Machine in Fall River and polished by EFCO Finishing Corporation in Menomonee Falls, a detail that Insight on Business reports is updated annually by the two Wisconsin metalworking firms.
Why the Contest Matters Beyond Bragging Rights
The tournament schedule aligns with October's National Manufacturing Month, and the 2026 winner is set to be crowned at WMC's Business Day event on October 27, 2026, at Monona Terrace in Madison. Manufacturing remains Wisconsin's largest economic sector, contributing over $73.7 billion to the state economy and accounting for nearly 20% of GDP while employing roughly one in six Wisconsin workers across more than 9,000 facilities, per WMC. The sector also generates $42.8 billion in annual worker earnings and supplies nearly 500,000 high-skill jobs statewide.
Beyond the public spectacle of ranking sodas against fire trucks, WMC and local chambers use the contest as a talent pipeline initiative, aiming to promote high-wage technical careers as the state faces significant manufacturing retirements. Educational posters and facility tours during Manufacturing Month are designed to inspire students toward technical roles in an industry that a 2025 WMC export report shows exported $1.76 billion in agriculture and construction machinery and $1.74 billion in computer equipment last year, with Canada standing as the state's top overall trade partner at $7.94 billion.
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