HERE NEWS: Top 16 announced in contest to pick Coolest Thing Made in S.C.

Sixteen products have been announced as the Top 16 finalists in the third annual Manufacturing Madness contest presented by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. The winner will be awarded the title of “Coolest Thing Made in S.C.”

Nominations for the contest were accepted from February 12-22, resulting in 166 nominated products. The public had the opportunity to vote for their favorites from February 26-29. Over 56,000 votes were cast to determine the Top 16 vote-getters that would advance to the bracket stage.

Voters can visit the scmanufacturingmadness.com website to select a winner from each pairing in the bracket. The field will be narrowed down each week until the ultimate winner is selected from the top four finalists. The winner will be revealed at a ceremony held at the Statehouse on March 28.

The Top 16 finalists for the Coolest Thing Made in S.C. contest are as follows:

• Next-Gen USPS Delivery Vehicle, Oshkosh Defense, Spartanburg
• Honda Talon 1000R-4 Fox Live Valve, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., South Carolina Manufacturing, Florence
• TGIF Baby Back Ribs, Spartanburg Meat Processing Company, Inc., Spartanburg
• 9-Speed Automatic Transmission, ZF Transmissions, Laurens
• BMW XM Plug-In Hybrid, BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC, Spartanburg
• High Noon Sun Sips, E. & J. Gallo Winery, Chester
• Counterbalance Trucks, KION North America, Dorchester
• M240 Series Machine Guns, FN Manufacturing, LLC, Richland
• Dixie Paper Plates, Georgia-Pacific, Darlington
• Fire Sprinklers, Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co., Inc., Pickens
• Kazoobie Kazoos, Kazoobie Kazoos, LLC, Beaufort
• 670LXS, Scout Boats, Dorchester
• Michelin Earthmover Mining Tire, Michelin, Lexington
• Reishi, MycoWorks, Union
• Sleep Number Climate360 Smart Bed, Sleep Number, Richland
• Signa Hero MRI Scanner, GE HealthCare, Florence

Remaining timeline for the Coolest Thing Made in S.C. contest:

• March 4-7: Top 16 bracket voting
• March 11-14: Top 8 bracket voting
• March 18-21: Final round of bracket voting
• March 28: Winner announcement ceremony