Coolest Thing Made In Kansas Announces 2024 Coolest Innovation Winner
The Kansas Manufacturing Council (KMC) on Tuesday announced the Stacker 8500 is the winner of the 2024 Coolest Thing Made In Kansas - Coolest Innovation.
"The KMC is excited to celebrate the Stacker 8500 manufactured by Stinger Inc. as the 2024 Coolest Innovation," said KMC Executive Director Brandie McPherson. "Our panel of judges had a very difficult job in narrowing it down from the 28 products nominated to just one."
Presented by Forvis Mazars, the KMC added this category in 2022 to highlight the many ways Kansas manufacturers research and develop new products and work to improve products to address crucial challenges.
This year's contest began with 28 nominated products. Twelve moved on to the first round of judging by completing a questionnaire detailing their innovations. A panel of judges reviewed the questionnaires and then ranked the products for their innovative solutions, narrowing the competition for the final round of judging.
During the final round, the judges heard from the companies who advanced to the finals:
Cosmic Soil Moisture Monitor by Radiation Detection Technologies, Manhattan
Stacker 8500 by Stinger, INC, Burrton
The Beast Rogue Fire Fighting Tools by Prohoe Manufacturing LLC, Munden
Command Center Tower on the OutStander Stand-On Mower By Grasshopper Mower, Moundridge
The judges choose the winning product based on a criteria that includes its impact on the challenge it solves as well as the impact it has on the business, its employees, and customers.
Manufactured in Burrton by Stinger, Inc., the Stacker 8500 is the first commercial bale stacker designed specifically for the expanding market of Ultra dense square bales.
It combines the most popular and proven features of Stingers of the past with the added performance and design to handle more bales at less cost than any other bale wagon in the world. Increased capacity, increased flotation, increased traction, speed, and horsepower. Click here to watch a video of the Stacker 8500 in action.
The winner of the 2024 Coolest Thing Made in Kansas - Coolest Innovation was announced during the KMC's Kansas Manufacturing Summit held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Wichita.
There are nearly 2,500 manufacturers in Kansas, employing more than 160,000 people with an average annual compensation of $79,722. Manufacturing produces more than $26.7 billion in output annually, 15% of the total output in the state. Manufacturing helps drive the state's economy with more than $9.93 billion in annual manufactured good exports to markets such as Canada, Mexico, and Japan.
