INDIANA — The Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s third annual Coolest Thing Made in Indiana tournament officially tips off Friday with online voting at www.indianachamber.com/coolestthing.
The contestants, matchups, products, and product descriptions can now be seen on the event’s website.
The contest, which celebrates the state’s long manufacturing history, boasts a 47-company field. There is a wide range of makers and their products entered from 38 Hoosier communities. The Hoosier Hysteria-style contest has quickly become one of the biggest of its kind in the country.
“Once again, we are thrilled and impressed with the quality of entrants in our Coolest Thing Made in Indiana contest,” says Kevin Brinegar, Indiana Chamber president and CEO. “The depth and breadth of this third annual field, like the previous two versions of this competition, are a testament to Indiana’s status as a manufacturing powerhouse.”
The organization’s goal with the Coolest Thing Made in Indiana program is “to showcase the wide variety of manufacturing taking place in the state that has helped our economy thrive,” Brinegar adds.
Entered companies face off in a single-elimination bracket format with winners chosen through public fan voting. Each winner goes to the next round until the Coolest Thing Made in Indiana champion is crowned. For fairness, the initial matchups were generated via an online randomizer. Due to the number of companies entered, 15 teams received first-round byes, selected at random.
“One of the really great things about this tournament is that it draws some really big companies – that make some very known products – who compete right alongside some emergent ones that are just starting to make their mark,” Brinegar offers. “You just never know how these contests will turn out.
“We encourage all entrants to get the word out to their staffs, families, customers, partners, and on their social media accounts to rally support for their product.”
The field is composed of manufacturers from Albion, Angola, Batesville, Carmel, Columbus, Decatur, English, Evansville, Gary, Grabill, Granger, Greencastle, Greenfield, Greensburg, Greens Fork, Indianapolis, Jasper, Kendallville, Lafayette, La Porte, Ligonier, Logansport, Matthews, Mitchell, Muncie, Nappanee, Nashville, Pendleton, Peru, Plymouth, Seymour, South Bend, St. Meinrad, Syracuse, Terre Haute, Upland, Wawaka and Woodburn.
Each entrant includes a photo and product description to aid in voting. A voter may vote once per matchup per round. The number of votes received will be reset at the beginning of each round. Voters must vote for all matchups in each round, including the ones with byes.
A perusal of the product descriptions on the contest’s website demonstrates the high level of amazing products made in the Hoosier state.
Janus Motorcycles of Goshen took top honors in the inaugural competition and the Indiana Chamber honored Leesburg-based Maple Leaf Farms for its roast half duck in the second annual Coolest Thing Made in Indiana tournament.
The first round of voting ends Wednesday, November 1; voting for the tournament concludes on November 30. Below is the timing of each voting round; all times noted are in Eastern Time.
Voting tips off on October 27 and concludes on November 30.
*Cast votes from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for each round!*
- Round 1: October 27-November 1
- Round 2: November 2-November 7
- Round 3: November 8-November 13
- Round 4: November 14-17
- Semis: November 20-24
- Finals: November 27-30
The latest ‘Coolest Thing’ champion will be announced on December 13 at the Indiana Chamber’s Best IN Manufacturing Luncheon, which also features the honorees in the Indiana Best Places to Work in Manufacturing program.
The Coolest Thing Made in Indiana and Indiana Best Places to Work in Manufacturing programs are supported by spirit sponsor Purdue Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Purdue MEP); gold sponsor Kalenborn Abresist Corporation; and silver sponsors Evonik Corporation and Tippecanoe Labs and Joyce/Dayton Corp.
Entry in the contest is free. To participate, a company did not need to be headquartered in Indiana, but the product entered must be manufactured in the state. Companies are limited to having one product nominated for entry.
