Top 16 named in 2026 search for Nebraska’s ‘coolest’ manufacturing product

LINCOLN  — The top 16 products have been revealed for the 2026 “Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska” competition — ranging from license plates to popcorn and what is billed as the world’s first miniaturized robotic-assisted surgery system.

“Nebraska makes some incredible products and the people who make them deserve to be celebrated,” said Joseph Young, president and CEO of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an organizer of the contest.

Voting continues through Oct. 4 for the first round of the bracket-style competition that features the top 16. Advanced rounds will follow, with the winner to be announced Oct. 29 at the chamber’s Manufacturing Summit in La Vista.

The multi-phase competition, now in its fifth year, is designed to shine light on the manufacturing industry, which Young calls a major economic engine for the state that supports more than 100,000 jobs and communities statewide.

He said the contest “lets us have some fun while telling a much bigger story: Nebraska manufacturers are innovative, competitive and making products that have an impact far beyond our state.”

All finalists will be invited to display products at the summit. Registration is open to the public.

Narrowed from a statewide pool by a judging panel of business and nonprofit leaders, this year’s top 16, and where they’re made: 

• FiberCut – Bish Enterprises, Giltner
• Avail Tow Bar – Blue Ox, Pender
• Hi Rail Excavator and Snowblower – Ceres Group, Omaha
• Ram Air Turbine Hub – Collins Aerospace, York
• Nebraska License Plates – Cornhusker State Industries, Lincoln
• Modular Housing – Family Built Homes, Gering
• Fresh, Stone Milled Flour – Grand Republic Milling Company, Gering
• Excedrin – Haleon, Lincoln
• Precision Hunter Ammunition– Hornady Manufacturing, Grand Island
• TAU-XR – Lindsay Corporation, Lindsay
• Marble Pack-Off – Marble Technologies, Lincoln
• Nirbuilt Airboats – Nirbuilt Airboats, Ashland
• Animal Health IV Fluids – Nova-Tech, Inc., Grand Island
• Popcorn – Popcorn County, USA, North Loup
• PyraMAX Transmission Structures – Valmont Industries, Columbus
• MIRA- miniRAS – Virtual Incision, Lincoln

The winner will join the ranks of other “coolest” Nebraska-made products: a Grand Island-produced combine series by Case IH (2025), Valley Irrigation’s center pivot irrigation machine (2024), Rocket Mobility’s all-terrain tracked wheelchair made in Columbus (2023) and Kawasaki’s subway car built in Lincoln to run on the rail tracks of New York City (2022).