Bend’s Epic Aircraft won last year’s Coolest Thing Made in Oregon contest. It’s time to nominate for 2025
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Oregon Business & Industry, in partnership with Here is Oregon, is excited to announce the third annual Coolest Thing Made in Oregon contest, in which Oregonians will vote for the coolest thing manufactured in the Beaver State.
Finalists will be chosen from a list of products nominated by the public. They will participate in a bracket-style tournament, and four rounds of voting will produce a winner. The winning manufacturer will receive formal recognition and, more importantly, enjoy bragging rights for producing Oregon’s coolest thing.
The window to nominate products will remain open until July 10. The 16 finalists will be announced in September, and the winner will be revealed at OBI’s Vision Oregon Event on Oct. 22. Nominations can be made at Here is Oregon’s Coolest Thing Made in Oregon page.
Developing a list of only 16 finalists won’t be easy. Oregon’s manufacturing sector employs more than 200,000 people and contributes more than $36 billion annually to the state’s gross domestic product, according to a 2024 ECONorthwest study funded by OBI. You don’t get numbers like this without manufacturing a lot of things, in terms of both volume and variety.
Oregon’s manufacturing sector has helped make the state an export powerhouse. As noted in OBI’s 2025 Oregon Competitiveness Book, the per-capita value of Oregon’s exports was the nation’s ninth highest in 2023. Oregon exports more than $6,500 in goods for every one of the state’s residents. The value of Oregon’s exports topped $27 billion in 2023.
Manufacturing pays well, too. On a per-hour basis, Oregon’s median manufacturing income exceeds those in all other industries by almost 17%.
Freres Engineered Wood’s Mass Ply Panels won the inaugural Coolest Thing Made in Oregon contest in 2023. And Epic Aircraft’s E1000 GX won in 2024.
More information about the contest is available on OBI’s Coolest Thing Made in Oregon web page, which will feature all updates.
To qualify for the contest, products must be manufactured substantially within Oregon and be legal to buy in all 50 states. Anyone can nominate a product, and manufacturers are encouraged to do so. Nobody knows how cool a product is more than the people who make it.
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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. Oregon’s private sector businesses help drive a healthy, prosperous economy for the benefit of everyone.
