APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV) – After days of voting, with the number of votes tallying nearly 200,000, the winner of 2023’s Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin has been crowned, with the winning product coming from a Fox Valley manufacturer.
The winner? Plexus Corp.’s Bevi Bottleless Water Dispenser, manufactured in Appleton. Plexus was announced as the winner at the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce’s (WMC) annual Business Day event on Thursday in Madison.
Plexus Corp., which is headquartered in Neenah, and its Bevi Bottleless Water Dispenser beat out over 100 products that were nominated from all over Wisconsin. The statewide contest has drawn over 1.3 million votes since its inception eight years ago and had over 187,000 votes cast this year.
The Bevi Bottleless Water Dispenser is described as “a smart water dispenser that offers on-demand filtered, flavored, and sparkling water with a mission to unbottle the future.” Officials say that users of the product have saved over 400 million single-use plastic bottles to date.
The Bevi Bottleless Water Dispenser combines sustainability and innovation to vastly reduce the carbon footprint of its end-users, embodying our vision to help create the products that build a better world. This product, manufactured at our facility in Appleton, is representative of our global team’s dedication and commitment in bringing that vision to life. We are proud to have Bevi honored by WMC and the state of Wisconsin as the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin.
Plexus CEO Todd Kelsey
The annual contest is meant to draw attention to Wisconsin’s robust and diverse manufacturing industry. “The Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest continues to showcase the best of Wisconsin manufacturing. Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees and especially to the entire team at Plexus!” said WMC President & CEO Kurt R. Bauer.
The final four products included:
- #1 Seed: Plexus Corp., Neenah, Bevi Bottleless Water Dispenser
- #2 Seed: Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Meats, Wittenberg, Applewood Smoked Bacon
- #3 Seed: AriensCo, Brillion, Ariens® 90th Anniversary Limited Edition Sno-Thro
- #12 Seed: Thorogood, Merrill, American Heritage 6” Tobacco Safety Toe Work Boot
“Northeast Wisconsin truly made their mark in this year’s competition and was well represented in the top four,” said Johnson Financial Group President & CEO Jim Popp. Popp also added that the Bevi Bottleless Water Dispenser is “something that every business needs.”
Pierce Manufacturing’s Electric Vehicle Fire Truck from Appleton was crowned the winner in 2022, making it back-to-back winners coming out of the Appleton area.
