Hoosier State Today

The Indiana Chamber's annual Coolest Thing Made IN Indiana contest has narrowed its field from 90 competitors to the Sweet 16. The fourth round of the competition will continue until November 21. This year, the Indiana Destination Development Corporation (IDDC) is collaborating with the Chamber, incorporating its "IN Indiana" marketing campaign into the tournament.

The remaining contenders represent manufacturers from 14 cities across Indiana. Fort Wayne and Nashville each have two companies still in contention. The companies advancing to this stage include Bear Wallow Distillery from Nashville, Blue Fox Farms LLC from Wawaka, Clabber Girl from Terre Haute, Country Roads Coffee from Albion, Fort Wayne Metals from Fort Wayne, Gator from Columbia City, Goshen Brewing Co. from Goshen, Guardian Bikes from Seymour, Hard Truth Whiskey Co. also based in Nashville, Harpsicle Harps from Rising Sun, Hiker Trailers out of Columbus, Kimball International located in Jasper, L3Harris Technologies Inc., also representing Fort Wayne, Polygon Company of Walkerton, Rolls-Royce North America situated in Indianapolis and Smoker Craft Inc., hailing from New Paris.

Vanessa Green Sinders, president and CEO of the Indiana Chamber stated: “With such fierce competition, it’s no easy feat to get to the round of 16, so these victors should be very proud to march on in the tournament.” She added that reaching the quarterfinals requires just one more victory: “From there it’s three short yet difficult steps to claim the ‘Coolest’ title – and bask in the brightest spotlight. We can’t wait to see how the contest plays out.”

Matchups and product descriptions are available on the event’s website at www.indianachamber.com/coolestthing where fans can vote for their favorites. Voting requires participation in all matchups within a given round.

The quarterfinals will occur between November 22-26 followed by semifinals scheduled for November 27-December 2 and finals set for December 3-5. In a new initiative this year by IDDC high-quality videos featuring each of eight quarterfinalists will be produced which companies can use for promotion purposes.

Participation in this contest is free though products must be manufactured within Indiana even if company headquarters are elsewhere; each company may enter only one product.

Last year's winner was Hoosier Racing Tire recognized for its racing tire while previous winners included Janus Motorcycles and Maple Leaf Farms acknowledged for their contributions respectively during earlier contests.

Awards recognizing top performers this year will be distributed at an event on December 11 at Indianapolis' Indiana Roof Ballroom supported by sponsors including Purdue Manufacturing Extension Partnership along with Kalenborn Abresist Corporation Evonik Tippecanoe Laboratories among others providing backing towards Best IN Manufacturing endeavors too.