Nominations being accepted for 2019 ‘Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin’ contest

MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) and Johnson Financial Group are now accepting nominations for the 2019 Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest.

Any product manufactured in Wisconsin has the chance to be crowned the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin. But all entrants must fill out the form at madeinwis.com to nominate a product between Monday, Aug. 12 through Friday, Aug. 30. Self-nominations from companies are encouraged.

A news release indicates last year alone, roughly 150 products were nominated and over 185,000 votes were cast to determine the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin. Products have ranged from motorcycles, military vehicles, cheese products, boats, generators, food carts, iron castings, beer, all-terrain vehicles, snow blowers and much, much more.

Following the nomination period, a popular vote will determine the Top 16 products that will be placed in a bracket-style tournament called Manufacturing Madness. Products will compete against one another in head-to-head match-ups, and the products that receive the highest votes in each match-up will advance to the next round.

Here’s the breakdown:

Products that move onto the next rounds will be announced via Facebook Live, and the winner will be announced on Oct. 8 at WMC Foundation’s Business & Industry Luncheonat State Fair Park in Milwaukee.