With nearly 80,000 votes cast, the competition in the seventh annual “Makers Madness” contest has been narrowed to the Top 16 contenders. Hosted by the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, Makers Madness is a bracket-style tournament in which voters decide which product earns the title of The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois. Elastic in Carmi has made the Top 16 with a Duck Skimmer.
Presented by Comcast Business, the contest celebrates the outstanding work of Illinois manufacturers, who have long served as the backbone of the state’s economy. Manufacturing is Illinois’s largest industry contributor to Gross Domestic Product, supporting nearly a third of all jobs and adding over $580 billion to the state’s economy each year.
More than 100 unique products from across Illinois were nominated for the 2026 title. After two weeks of voting, the field has been narrowed to the Top 16. The Makers Madness Top 16 matchups are:
Bracket A:
(1) NASA Standard Initiator (Chemring Energetic Devices, Downers Grove) vs. (4) Gindo’s Whiskey Acres Maple Bourbon Whiskey Sauce (Gindo’s Spice of Life, St. Charles)
(2) 6000-RLA Ice Flaker (Howe Corporation, Chicago) vs. (3) Kinder Bueno (Ferrero, Bloomington)
Bracket B:
(1) John Deere Combine (John Deere, East Moline) vs. (4) CHEESEWICH Colby Jack Cheese and Hard Salami (Cheesewich Ltd., Hodgkins)
(2) Advanced Quantum Computing Ultra-High Vacuum Chamber (Meyer Tool & Manufacturing, Oak Lawn) vs. (3) ADA Bus Transport Seat (Freedman by Lippert, Chicago)
Bracket C:
(1) MQ-25 Stingray (The Boeing Company, Mascoutah) vs. (4) ROHN Self-Supporting Tower (ROHN Products, LLC, Peoria)
(2) Adobo and Sazon All-Purpose Seasoning (La Criolla Inc., Alsip) vs. (3) Duck Skimmer (Elastec, Carmi)
Bracket D:
(1) NERDS Juicy Gummy Clusters (Ferrara Candy Company, Chicago) vs. (4) Aerapy PPR HVAC UV System (Aerapy, Elk Grove Village)
(2) Aerosol Spray Cheese (Berner Food & Beverage, Dakota) vs. (3) Curved Blazed Diffraction Grating (Inprentus, Inc., Champaign)
Voting for the next round is now open at www.makersmadnessil.com through 11:59 p.m. on March 29th. Voters may cast one vote per day in each of the eight head-to-head product matchups. Subsequent rounds of voting will occur weekly, with vote totals reset at the start of each round. The contest will culminate in an awards ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion on April 15th, when The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois will be announced.
Last year’s champion was the Aerial Firefighting Helicopter Refill Pump, a device that provides rapid and reliable water access for aerial firefighting teams, manufactured by MTH Pumps in Plano.
The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association is the only statewide association dedicated exclusively to advocating for, promoting, and strengthening Illinois’s manufacturing sector. The IMA is the oldest and largest state manufacturing trade association in the nation, representing nearly 4,000 companies and facilities. For more information, visit https://ima-net.org.