NC Chamber announced Thursday the winners of this year’s “Coolest Thing Made in North Carolina” competition.
Troutman-based C.R. Onsrud’s Q-Series 5-Axis CNC Machine – which helps manufacturers from Boeing to Goodyear to Steinway & Son with high-speed machining of advanced materials – is the winner in the medium-to-large business category.
Static Rope Edge Protectors by Fjord, which keeps static lines from chafing on sharp edges or abrasive surfaces, won in the small business category. Also known as STREP, this product is manufactured in Burlington and has fewer than 100 employees.
The online contest began with 130 nominees. A total of 45,116 votes were cast over three rounds of public voting. C.R. Onsrud’s product, also known as the Qube, and STREP earned the top spots with 4,730 and 3,262 votes, respectively.
NC Chamber launched the competition in 2020 to honor North Carolina manufacturers and highlight careers available in the industry. North Carolina’s manufacturing industry is the largest workforce in the Southeast with approximately 475,000 North Carolinians employed by state manufacturers.
NC Chamber also awarded second through fifth place awards in both categories.
Large business:
- Second place, Nucor Steel Plate, manufactured in Cofield;
- Third place, Flucelvax Quadrivalent by CSL Seqirus, manufactured in Holly Springs;
- Fourth place, HondaJet Elite II, manufactured in Greensboro; and
- Fifth place, Corning Optical Fiber and Cable, manufactured in Wilmington, Concord, Hickory, Newton and Winston-Salem.
Small business
- Second place, Piedmont Pennies, manufactured in Charlotte;
- Third place, Atlantic Beach Sea Salt, manufactured in Atlantic Beach;
- Fourth place, SilverQuicken Education’s Quest Club Kits, manufactured in Chapel Hill; and
- Fifth place, MacLellan Bagpipes, manufactured in Zebulon.
“Congratulations to C.R. Onsrud and Fjord Inc. for winning the 2023 ‘Coolest Thing Made in NC’ title,” NC Chamber President and CEO Gary Salamido stated in a release. “Tomorrow (Friday, Oct. 6) is National Manufacturing Day, and we would like to thank our entire manufacturing community for developing important and lifesaving products for our state, country, and world. Our manufacturers are vital to both the health of our people and our economy.”
Manufacturing Day is organized nationally by the National Association of Manufacturers and the Manufacturing Institute. The day coincides with with North Carolina’s Manufacturing Week. NC Chamber is the state affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers.
Illinois-based Baxter is the presenting sponsor of the online competition, and Business North Carolina is this year’s media partner.
Baxter is a global healthcare company that produces intravenous and peritoneal dialysis solutions, as well as empty containers and component parts for other Baxter facilities, in Marion.