“Makers Madness” Contest Enters Final Round

Four Products Remain in Running for “The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois”

April 1, 2025 – As voting opens in the final round of the 2025 “Makers Madness” contest, four products have emerged as finalists in the bracket-style tournament hosted by the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association that lets voters decide which product is The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois.

Presented by Comcast Business, the competition celebrates the incredible work of manufacturers across Illinois, who have long served as the backbone of our state’s economy. Manufacturing is the largest contributor of any industry to the state’s Gross Domestic Product, supporting nearly a third of all jobs in Illinois and contributing more than $580 billion to the state’s economy each year.

Over the past week, voters chose their favorites in four head-to-head matchups between individual products, with nearly 55,000 votes cast in this round. From an original field of more than 250 products, nominees for The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois have now been whittled down to the Top 4 which are: Aerial Firefighting Helicopter Refill Pumps manufactured by MTH Pumps in Plano; Joint Combined Aircrew Systems Tester (JCAST) manufactured by Chemring Energetic Devices in Downers Grove; Donor Milk pasteurized and distributed by Mother’s Milk Bank of Western Great Lakes in Elk Grove Villageand ROV Skimmer – Remote Operated Oil Skimmer manufactured by Elastec in Carmi.

“There’s just one week left in the competition, so make sure to cast your vote before it’s too late,” said Mark Denzler, President and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “This contest is about celebrating the incredible creativity, innovation and versatility of our state’s manufacturers– attributes that are well represented in this year’s Top 4. We wish the finalists the best of luck as we prepare to unveil the winner of the 2025 title of The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois.”

More details about the products in the “Makers Madness” Top 4 are as follows:

Aerial Firefighting Helicopter Refill Pumps
Manufactured by MTH Pumps in Plano, the Aerial Firefighting Helicopter Refill Pump was designed to reduce the refill time of helicopter-based water tanks from over a minute to as little as 30 seconds, increasing the number of water drops that aerial firefighters can place on a wildfire. This time advantage improves the chances of slowing or stopping fires from endangering lives, property and habitats. When wildfires in California left a trail of destruction, MTH Pumps helped by providing rapid and reliable water access for aerial firefighting teams.

Joint Combined Aircrew Systems Tester (JCAST)  
Manufactured by Chemring Energetic Devices in Downers Grove, the Joint Combined Aircrew System Tester (JCAST) is a stand-alone, benchtop tester capable of evaluating flight equipment for many aircrew flight systems. It provides mission critical data and simple go/no-go information for complete system verification. JCAST is used to assess the critical safety of flight for Aircrew Flight Equipment components used in conjunction with military flying operations.

Donor Milk
Collected, pasteurized, packaged and distributed by Mother’s Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes in Elk Grove Village, Donor Milk is a life-saving product provided to premature and critically ill babies to save young lives and improve pediatric health. Donor milk is essential for some babies with complex medical needs and required in situations where there is low milk or delayed supply by mothers, parental absence or separation and in cases of adoption and surrogacy.

ROV Skimmer – Remote Operated Oil Skimmer
Manufactured by Elastec in Carmi, the ROV Skimmer is a remotely controlled device designed to provide an effective method of oil recovery in aquatic spills and a variety of other pollution situations. It can be maneuvered into spaces where it would be difficult to deploy a traditional fixed oil skimmer, making the ROV Skimmer  an effective tool for pollution control, environmental protection and safety.

Voting for this round is now open and will take place at www.makersmadnessil.com through 11:59 p.m. on April 6. Voters may cast one vote per day for any of the four finalists. The contest will culminate with an awards ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion on April 9 when The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois will be named.

“Congratulations to the Top 4 products, victory is within reach,” said Sean McCarthy, Comcast’s Regional Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Initiatives. “Comcast Business is proud to support Illinois manufacturers and the annual Makers Madness contest. We can’t wait to see which product emerges as this year’s winner.”

Last year’s champion was the Komatsu mining truck, a rugged, large capacity vehicle used for construction and mining made by Komatsu in Peoria. Previous contest winners include the Rosenberg Moon Habitat, a 3D printed polymer structure designed to house humans on the moon manufactured by Ingersoll Machine Tools in Rockford; Rivian’s all-electric R1T truck made in Normal, the first all-electric truck in production featuring four motors, with one powering each wheel; the Self-Regulating Traffic Signal Heater by Termico Technologies in Elk Grove Village, which uses conductive particles to heat traffic signals so they remain free of ice and snow and traffic can safely navigate our roadways; and the 797F Mining Truck manufactured by Caterpillar, Inc. in Decatur, the world’s largest mechanical truck.

Timeline of events:

February 12 – March 2: Nominations open and accepted at www.makersmadnessil.com

March 4 – March 16: Nomination voting

March 18: Top 16 Announced   

March 18 – March 23: First round of voting

March 25: Top 8 Announced

March 25 – March 30: Second round of voting

April 1: Top 4 Announced

April 1 – April 6: Final round of voting

April 9: Winner of The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois announced during awards luncheon at the Governor’s Mansion in Springfield

About the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA)
The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association is the only statewide association dedicated exclusively to advocating, promoting and strengthening the manufacturing sector in Illinois. The IMA is the oldest and largest state manufacturing trade association in the United States, representing nearly 4,000 companies and facilities. For more information, visit https://ima-net.org/.