COLUMBIA, S.C. — What's the coolest thing made in South Carolina? A new bracket-style contest called Manufacturing Madness asks the public to decide!
The South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance (SCMA) is launching the two-month long contest, which will coincide with March Madness.
Nominations open on Feb. 7 at scmanufacturingmadness.com. After nominations close on Feb. 25, people will be able to cast their vote for the coolest product manufactured in the Palmetto State.
The top 16 vote-getters will be revealed on March 7. Those products will be paired up in the contest’s bracket, and voters will select a winner from each pairing, cutting the field in half each week until the ultimate winner is selected from the Top Four.
The winner will be announced in a ceremony at the State House on March 30.
What can be nominated?
Any product manufactured in South Carolina can be nominated. While qualifying products must be made in South Carolina, the manufacturers’ headquarters do not need to be located in South Carolina.
The product must be made using a manufacturing process. For example, a restaurant that makes “made to order” pizzas would not qualify, but a food manufacturer that mass-produces frozen pizzas would.
A company can have multiple products nominated for Manufacturing Madness but only one product per company will be allowed into the First Round (Top 16 products).
“There are more than 5,000 manufacturers in South Carolina employing over 300,000 people who make some of the most innovative products in the world," said S.C. Manufacturers Alliance President & CEO Sara Hazzard. "Manufacturing Madness is an exciting way to highlight many of those companies and what they make, as well as honor the work that hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians do every day.”
Contest Timeline
Feb. 7-Feb. 25: Nominations period (people can nominate as many products as they like)
Feb. 28-March 4: Popular vote
March 7-11: First round of bracket voting for Top 16
March 14-18: Second round of bracket voting for Top 8
March 21-25: Final round of bracket voting
March 30: Winner announced