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130 Nominees Named for “Coolest Thing Made in NC” Contest

| Manufacturing

RALEIGH, N.C. – Today, the NC Chamber announced the 130 nominees for its annual “Coolest Thing Made in NC” online competition. This is the fourth year that the NC Chamber has held the popular, public-driven contest, which spotlights North Carolina’s cutting-edge manufacturing industry—an industry that generates more than 17% of the gross state product and employs more than 10% of the state’s workforce.

The contest recognizes two winners: one for businesses with fewer than 100 employees, and one for businesses with 100+ employees.

“Congratulations to our 2023 nominees; each product tells a special story of the impact and innovation manufacturers have on our great state,” said NC Chamber President and CEO Gary Salamido. “As we always say at the NC Chamber: what’s made in North Carolina makes North Carolina.”

In 2020, the NC Chamber launched the “Coolest Thing Made in NC” competition to celebrate North Carolina’s vital manufacturing community – and champion the next generation of manufacturers and creators by raising awareness about the rewarding careers of modern manufacturing. Last year, the online contest began with 80 nominees and after three rounds of public voting totaling 46,000 votes, the Caterpillar Cat® track loader and beachBub umbrella system earned the top spots, earning 6,397 and 5,436 votes respectively.

Baxter is serving as the Presenting Sponsor of the online competition, and Business North Carolina is this year’s Media Partner. As the exclusive North Carolina affiliate for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the NC Chamber knows that a strong manufacturing industry is crucial to the state’s economic and competitive success. The North Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NCMEP) is collaborating on the annual contest as a Supporting Organization.

How to Vote:

Go to coolestthingmadeinnc.com to vote for the coolest thing made in NC; the 15 semifinalists will be announced on Thursday, September 7. The field of candidates will narrow with each round of voting, and the winning product will be revealed on Thursday, October 5, the day before National Manufacturing (MFG) Day. October is Manufacturing Month, and MFG Day, organized nationally by the NAM and The Manufacturing Institute, highlights the rewarding career opportunities of modern manufacturing.

Join the contest’s social media campaign by following #CoolestThingMadeinNC. In addition to receiving a trophy, the victorious company and product will be featured in NC Chamber and Business North Carolina publications, podcasts, social and digital media, among additional statewide publicity efforts. Information on last year’s winner and runners-up can be found here.

“The Coolest Thing Made in NC Nominees (in alphabetical order by manufacturing location):

*Designates Medium-to-Large Business Category

City Company Product Name
Apex Penny Portrait Penny Portrait Kit
Asheboro *The Magnet Guys The Magnet Guys Promotional Magnets
Asheboro *Energizer Energizer AA Batteries
Asheboro Cargo Caddie Cargo Caddie Golf Cart Utility Box
Asheboro Matthew Kelly Pottery Matthew Kelly Pottery
Asheboro Carriage House Tea “Sex on the Beach” Herb & Fruit Tea
Asheboro/Asheville Shibumi Shibumi Shade
Asheville Industry Nine Bicycle Wheels
Atlantic Beach Atlantic Beach Sea Salt Atlantic Beach Sea Salt
Bear Creek Southern Supreme Southern Supreme Nutty Fruitcake
Beaufort 350 Cheese Straws 350 Cheese Straws
Boone Fun Mom Band “Mom’s Fanny” Bag
Brevard SylvanSport SylvanSport VAST Travel Trailer
Brevard Gulo Composites (KEIR Manufacturing) GGA 38 Carbon Wheelset
Browns Summit *Bankote Corporation of America Banknote Corporation of America USPS Stamps
Burgaw Mojotone NC-2 Acoustic Guitar Pickup
Burlington Fjord Static Rope Edge Protection (STREP)
Burlington Wrightsock Coolmesh II No Blister Sock
Burlington, Morganton, Nebo Carolina Textile District Marigold Beanie
Chapel Hill SilverQuicken Education Questclub Kits
Charlotte *Aplix Hook and Loop Fasteners
Charlotte *Sealed Air SEE Brand Bubble Wrap
Charlotte Still There Shine Sauce Pig Polish
Charlotte Piedmont Pennies Piedmont Pennies
Charlotte Lucid Bots Lucid Bots Sherpa Drone
Cofield *Nucor Nucor Steel Plate
Concord *Safewaze Arc Flash Construction Harness
Concord/Kannapolis Genixus KinetiX
Cooleemee Memory Lane Boutique Custom Memory Bears
Creston BREW Bikes Custom Racing Frames
Currie The Beach Mule The Beach Mule
Denver WaterDog Adventure Gear (WAG) Boarding Steps WaterDog Adventure Gear (WAG)® Boarding Steps
Dobson *Carolina Carports Carolina Carports
Durham *Merck M-M-R®II Vaccine
Durham *Wolfspeed Wolfspeed Silicon Carbide Wafers
Durham *Humacyte Human Acellular Vessel (HAV)
Durham Bright Black Durham Candle
Durham Vestaron Vestaron SPEAR
Durham Restor3d 3-d Printed Kinos Axiom Total Ankle System
Eden Night Owl National Stoneworks Night Owl National Stoneworks Custom Desks
Eden *Armor Express AETOS PC Vest
Elizabeth City *TCOM Aerostats TCOM Aerostats
Fayetteville U-TECK Attick-Trax Illuminated
Fletcher Cane Creek DB Kitsuma Coil
Fletcher Opie Way Opie Way X HH Canvas Sneaker
Franklinton *Novozymes Lipozyme
Greensboro *HondaJet HondaJet Elite II
Greensboro C.E. Smith Multi-sport Kayak Trailers
Greenville *Grady-White Boats Grady-White 281 CE
Greenville Jenni’s Ugly Chocolates Sweet Potato Crunch Bonbon
Greenville Prints and Clay Prints and Clay handcrafted pottery
Harrisburg US Legend Cars The Legend Car
Hendersonville Bright Farms Sunny Crunch Lettuce
Hickory *Century Furniture Chandler Telescoping Dining Table
Hiddenite Elliott Guitars Custom Guitars
Hillsborough Jabin Beverage Jabin Beverage
Holly Springs *CSL Seqirus Flucelvax Quadrivalent
Huntersville *Atom Power Atom Switch
Indian Trail 2 Hounds Design No-Pull Harness
Kernersville K-Vegas Nuts Goober’s Mix
Leland *Bradford Products Custom Hotel & Resort Pools
Leland HSM Machine Works F-35 Fighter Jet Landing Gear Components
Leland Rescue Essentials Slishman Traction Splint Generation 2
Lexington Piedmont Candy Company Red Bird soft Peppermint Puffs
Lincolnton Annihilare Medical Systems, Inc. AoS-500
Madison Gia Distillery FJW Solera Style American Whiskey
Madison Clay Revolution Project X Silver Clay
Madison/Stokesdale KALO Foods Gluten-free Ginger Snap Cookie
Mayodan and Mount Holly Charlie’s Soap Charlie’s Soap Laundry Liquid
Mebane *Sandvik Coromant M5B90 Super Finishing Face Milling Cutter
Mebane *Lotus Bakeries Biscoff Cookie
Mocksville Country Water Country Water Canned Wines
Mocksville Bus Safety Solutions Extended Stop Arm
Mooresville M7 Tuning M7 Tuning Mini Lift Kits
Mooresville Holohan’s Hot Rod Shop Steel Exhaust Hangers
Mooresville Detroit Speed Detroit Speed Subframes
Mooresville Sheets Sheets Laundry Detergent
Morehead City Bogue Sound Watermelons Bogue Sound Watermelons
Morehead City Jake & Meta Designs Jake & Meta Designs Calendars
Mount Airy Station 1978 Firehouse Peanuts Station 1978 Firehouse Peanuts
Mt Olive *Mt. Olive Mt. Olive Pickle Juicers
Mt. Airy *Nester Hosiery Farm-to-Feet Socks
Mt. Airy LazerEdge NC Coasters
Mt. Airy Andrew Pearson Premium Glassworks Fuzion Glass
Nashville George’s BBQ Sauce George’s BBQ Sauce
Newport Mamasita’s Gourmet White Corn Tortilla Chips
Oak Island Ocean Therapy Potions Bug Off Spray
Old Fort *Columbia Forest Products PureBond Formaldehyde-Free Hardwood Plywood
Old Fort Forza X1 F-22 All-electric Center Console Motor Boat
Pfafftown SPEVCO NC Be Pro Be Proud workforce education trailers
Raleigh *Mallinckrodt Mallinckrodt Acetominophen
Raleigh Queen City Crunch Queen City Crunch Pretzels
Raleigh Benny T’s Vesta Benny T’s Vesta Dry Hot Sauce
Raleigh Designed for Joy Designed for Joy Handbags
Raleigh Diveplane GeminAI
Randleman *Timken Taper Roller Bearings
Reidsville Fogwood Farm Ghost Pepper Jam
Rockingham Cold War Concealment Cold War Concealment Holsters
RTP/Durham Trio Labs Micro-precision Metal Components
Salibury *Amrep Amrep Garbage Trucks
Salisbury *Hexagon Agility Hexagon Agility Fuel Storage and Delivery System
Salisbury *Power Curbers  5700-Series Slipform machine
Salisbury Carolina Beverage Company Cheerwine
Sanford *Boone Brands Patterson’s Hot Dog Chilli
Smithfield *Carolina Packers Bright Leaf Hot Dogs
Smyrna Fisherman Creations Crab Pot Christmas Trees
Statesville L.A. West Sprinter Luxury Transportation Bus
Stony Point *Shurtape Duck Tape
Summerfield Burn Bags USA The Classic Bag
Troutman *C.R. Onsrud Q-Series 5-Axis CNC Machine
Troutman Troutman Chairs Troutman Rocking Chairs
Wanchese *Bayliss Boatworks Bayliss Boatworks Custom Sportfishing Yacht
Waynesville Waynesville Soda Jerks Waynesville Soda Jerks Sodas
Weldon Weldon Mills Weldon Mills All-Malt Bourbon
West Jefferson Ashe County Cheese Ashe County Cheese
Wilmington Rulmeca Rulmeca Motorized Pulley
Wilmington MusicMedic Saxophone Pads
Wilmington CoopWorx CoopWorx Feed Silo
Wilmington, Concord, Hickory, Newton and Winston-Salem *Corning Optical Communications Corning Optical Fiber and Cable
Wilson Artisan Leaf Tobacco Leaf Tables
Windsor Bertie County Peanuts Blister Fried Peanuts
Winston-Salem *Garner Foods Texas Pete Hot Sauce
Winston-Salem Chad’s Chai Original Black Chai
Zebulon MacLellan Bagpipes MacLellan Bagpipes
  Awaken NC Beard Balm

 

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About the NC Chamber

The NC Chamber works to research, develop, advocate, and communicate for solutions and policies that produce a nationally competitive business climate in North Carolina. For more information, visit ncchamber.com.