Some Wilmington-area companies have been nominated for the NC Chamber's annual Coolest Thing Made in NC online competition.
The chamber announced the 130 nominees Thursday for the contest, which will recognize two winners – one for businesses with fewer than 100 employees and the other for those with 100 or more.
"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," a news release stated.
Last year, the 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, according to the release.
The following are the local nominees, their product and their location:
- Mojotone, NC-2 Acoustic Guitar Pickup, Burgaw
- The Beach Mule, The Beach Mule, Currie
- 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, Leland
- Ocean Therapy Potions, Bug Off Spray, Oak Island
- Rulmeca, Rulmeca Motorized Pulley, Wilmington
- MusicMedic, Saxophone Pads, Wilmington
- CoopWorx, CoopWorx Feed Silo, Wilmington
- Corning Optical Communications, Corning Optical Fiber and Cable, Wilmington, Concord, Hickory, Newton and Winston-Salem
Voting is available online. The 15 semifinalists will be announced Sept. 7, the release stated.
"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," the release stated. "October is Manufacturing Month, and MFG Day, organized nationally by the NAM and The Manufacturing Institute, highlights the rewarding career opportunities of modern manufacturing."
