The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA) has announced the start of its sixth annual "Makers Madness" contest, a bracket-style competition aimed at identifying the top product manufactured in Illinois. This event, presented by Comcast Business, seeks to highlight the significant contributions of manufacturers to the state's economy.
Manufacturing plays a vital role in Illinois, being the largest contributor to the state’s Gross Domestic Product and supporting nearly one-third of all jobs. The industry contributes over $580 billion annually to the state's economy.
Nominations for The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois are now open and can be submitted at www.makersmadnessil.com until March 2. Any product made in Illinois is eligible for nomination, regardless of where the manufacturer’s headquarters are located. Voting will begin on March 4 to select the Top 16 products, with subsequent rounds narrowing down the finalists each week. The contest will conclude with an awards ceremony on April 9 at the Governor’s Mansion in Springfield.
"Makers Madness showcases the many amazing and unique products created by manufacturers that consumers enjoy throughout Illinois and across the globe," said Mark Denzler, President and CEO of IMA. He added that Illinois is a hub of innovation where manufacturers produce groundbreaking products that benefit communities.
Sean McCarthy, Comcast's Regional Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Initiatives, expressed excitement about partnering with IMA again this year. "The Makers Madness competition is an incredible celebration of our state’s creativity and ingenuity," he said.
Previous winners include Komatsu's mining truck from Peoria and Rivian's all-electric R1T truck from Normal. Other notable winners were Ingersoll Machine Tools' Rosenberg Moon Habitat from Rockford and Termico Technologies' Self-Regulating Traffic Signal Heater from Elk Grove Village.
The timeline for this year's contest includes nomination acceptance from February 12 through March 2, followed by several rounds of voting leading up to the announcement of The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois on April 9.
For more information about IMA, visit their website at https://ima-net.org/.