This year’s ‘Coolest Thing Made in Oregon’ contest is down to eight finalists – and two are Central Oregon products
KTVZ
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — The first round of voting in the 2025 Coolest Thing Made in Oregon contest concluded Monday, narrowing the list of finalists to eight – two of them from Central Oregon.
Voting began two weeks ago with 16 finalists representing a wide variety of products manufactured throughout the state, from Pendleton to Tillamook. The second round of voting, which will narrow the finalists to four, has begun. It will conclude at noon next Monday, Sept. 29.
The Coolest Thing Made in Oregon contest, now in its third year, is presented by Oregon Business & Industry in partnership with Here is Oregon. Oregonians can download a printable bracket and learn about all of the Coolest Thing finalists on OBI’s website here. They should go here to vote for their favorites.
Last year, the voters chose Bend-based Epic Aircraft’s E1000 GX carbon fiber turboprop plane as the Coolest Thing Made in Oregon.
Here’s the rest of the OBI announcement, including the list:
A panel chose this year’s finalists from scores of products nominated by Oregonians over the spring and summer. Members of the public will narrow the field of finalists during several rounds of voting.
The manufacturer of the winning product will receive formal recognition and enjoy bragging rights for producing Oregon’s coolest thing – at least until next year, when Oregonians will identify a new coolest thing.
This year’s eight remaining finalists and the company locations:
A-dec’s 500 Pro Dental Delivery System (Newberg)
Bullseye Glass’ Art Glass (Portland)
Daimler Truck North America’s Western Star X-Series Trucks (Portland)
Kawak Aviation Technologies’ Cascade Helicopter Firefighting Bucket (Bend)
Keith Manufacturing’s Walking Floor Truck Unloading System (Madras)
Kingsford Charcoal (Springfield)
Oshkosh AeroTech’s LEKTRO Electric Aircraft Tugs (Warrenton)
Tillamook County Creamery Association’s Tillamook Cheese (Tillamook)
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OBI is a statewide association representing businesses from a wide variety of industries and from each of Oregon’s 36 counties. In addition to being the statewide chamber of commerce, OBI is the state affiliate for the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Retail Federation. Our 1,600 member companies, more than 75% of which are small businesses, employ more than 250,000 Oregonians.