Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest voting begins today in next bracket of Manufacturing Madness competition

On Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2023, the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) and Johnson Financial Group announced the top 8 products moving on in the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest, and Weinbrenner’s Thorogood American Heritage Tobacco Safety Toe Work Boot made it into the next bracket of competition. That means Thorogood boots, and each of the other seven products, won their head-to-head matchup in the top 16 bracket of the tournament.
“This contest showcases not just the cool products made in our own backyard, but the hundreds of thousands of hardworking Wisconsinites who make them,” said WMC’s Vice President of Communications & Marketing Nick Novak. “The Top 8 products show the diversity of cool things we make in Wisconsin, and we can’t wait to see which product will be crowned the coolest.”
Go to madeinwis.com to vote for the Top 8 Coolest Things Made in Wisconsin, set up in four head-to-head brackets:

• 1 Seed: Plexus Corp.–Appleton: Bevi Bottleless Water Dispensers vs. #8 Seed: John Deere Horicon Works–Horicon: Gator XUV 835R Signature Edition
• 2 Seed: Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Meats–Wittenberg: Applewood Smoked Bacon vs. #10 Seed: Cedar Valley–Belgium: String Cheese
• 3 Seed: AriensCo.–Brillion: Ariens 90th Anniversary Limited Edition Sno-Thro vs. #6 Seed: Krier Foods–Random Lake: Jolly Good Soda
• 12 Seed: Thorogood–Merrill: American Heritage Tobacco Safety Toe Work Boot vs. #13 Seed: Bay Tek Entertainment, Inc.–Pulaski: Skee-Ball

This second round of four head-to-head matchups of Manufacturing Madness will determine the Top 4 Coolest Things Made in Wisconsin. Then 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.
Voting for this bracketed round begins TODAY, Thursday, Oct. 4, and concludes at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 10. Manufacturers, consumers, and the public are all eligible to vote daily in each of the matchups at madeinwis.com.