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