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Jun 29, 2025SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WIFR) - The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association’s (IMA) bracket to find the Coolest Thing Made in Illinois has found its winner.
The Aerial Firefighting Helicopter Refill Pump, manufactured by MTH Pumps in Plano, is named the 2025 Makers Madness Coolest Thing Made in Illinois. More than 400,000 votes were cast over the eight weeks of competition.
The pump is designed to reduce the refill time of helicopter-based water tanks from over a minute to as little as 30 seconds. This improves the chances of slowing or stopping fires from endangering lives, property and habitat.
According to the IMA, these pumps were used during the California wildfires.
Governor JB Pritzker announced the winner Wednesday at a ceremony held at the Governor’s Mansion. He was joined by Mark Denzler – president and CEO of the IMA, Tim Tremain – president of MTH Pumps and Sean McCarthy – Comcast’s regional vice president of business development and strategic initiatives.
Manufacturing is the largest contributor of any industry to the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) according to the IMA.
The IMA also says manufacturing is more than 30% of all jobs in Illinois and contributes more than $580 billion to the state’s economy each year.
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