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What’s the Coolest Thing Made in NC?

North Carolina has much to be proud of, especially when it comes to the products it manufactures. Celebrate the Old North State’s creativity, innovation, and talent by nominating your favorite made-in-NC product.

Voting for the finals is now LIVE!

Presenting Sponsor

MANUFACTURERS

Leading the Way

There’s no better time to celebrate our state’s manufacturing community. What began in the 1880s as a sprinkling of textile mills across North Carolina’s landscape has evolved into an impressive, technologically-driven industry that generates more than 17% of our gross state product and employs more than 10% of our state’s workforce.

Our state’s manufacturers have always led the way in innovation. When our nation was brought to a near standstill by COVID-19, manufacturers heroically and swiftly pivoted to produce the equipment needed by front-line workers, vulnerable populations, hospitals, and businesses.

Courtesy of Shurtape Technologies
Courtesy of Nucor

Innovation, Creativity, and Importance

It’s past time to shine the spotlight on one of our state’s most vital industries. To celebrate the innovation, creativity, and importance of our state’s manufacturers, the NC Chamber hosts an annual statewide “Coolest Thing Made in NC” contest. After a public nomination and voting process, the NC Chamber will announce which product manufactured in the Old North State is truly the “coolest thing made in NC.”

$102.34 Billion

Total Manufacturing
Output, 2021

474,000

Manufacturing Employees in North Carolina, 2021

10.36%

Percent Share of Non-Farm Employment in NC, 2021

Data supplied by the National Association of Manufacturers.

Support Your Nominee

When nominations open, be sure to nominate the product you think is the coolest thing made in our state, then download and share our social media graphics and other materials to help promote your favorite.

The Coolest Thing Made in NC contest is run by the NC Chamber, the leading business advocacy organization in North Carolina. Our mission is to research, develop, advocate, and communicate for solutions and policies that produce a nationally competitive business climate in North Carolina.