September 25, 2025 • 5 mins
Delaney McKinley, Executive Vice President of Operations at the Michigan Manufacturers Association joins us to discuss the Top Ten Finalists for the Coolest Things Made in Michigan!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And welcome into West Michigan's Morning News, the Thursday edition.
I am Schmidty and for Steve Kelly, Brett Bakita is
here and on the live line. I love talking about
Michigan made stuff. Delaney McKinley is the executive vice president
of Operations for the Michigan Manufacturers Association. Delaney, good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good morning, Thanks so much for having me on.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Well, of course, anytime we see this list come out,
we've got to talk to you the top ten coolest
things Made in Michigan so quickly kind of talk to
us about how this competition came to be absolutely.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
So, you know, and just as you started this segment
saying that Michigan has been a hub of innovation for
absolutely generations and that spirit of innovation is really at
the heart of why we started the Coolest Thing Made
in Michigan competition. We started, and when we last spoke
with Steve and Brett, we started with twenty five diverse nominees,
and after thousands of votes have been cast, we're down
(00:57):
to the top ten contenders.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
All Right, de lady, I see there's one in our
listening area, which is good. Makes it a great competition
because you got east, you got west, you got north
against south, but heel heal roam three point fifty virtual
dog leash. I love this in Holland, Smithy's got to
hear about this.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Tell us absolutely, And I am a dog owner, so
I absolutely love this one too. It is a first
ever virtual leash that it's designed to keep up to
three dogs near their owners. So what this is. It
doesn't use cellular or GPS, but it keeps your dogs
within a perimeter of you from ten feet up to
(01:36):
seven hundred and fifty feet. So if you're camping, you're hiking,
you're at a dog park, you can make sure they're
right next to you.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
What I'll tell you, I made the Facebook page a
week into the new neighborhood we lived in as my
dog's escaped, so that would be great. I love this, lady.
I need directional wheels out of Albion.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
These are incredible conceptual innovations in Albion. What they are
is they're motor powered wheels that enable precision movement of
massive loads. And when we're talking massive, I mean massive.
We've got machinery that's the size of buildings, and this
allows them to move in any direction. In a very
safe and precise way.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Okay, And I want to ask. I'm thinking this is
kind of food related. Talk to us about Pioneer Sugar.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Well, Pioneer Sugar is a leader in food manufacturing here
in Michigan, which by the way, is the fastest growing
segment of manufacturing in the state. But there are over
eight hundred and sixty five farm owners that contribute to this,
and they produce one point three billion pounds of sugar annually,
and I think about one hundred pounds of that goes
(02:41):
to me directly.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Yeah, they have a Killer Sugar festival over there, guess Oh. Yeah,
I've been over the Unionville Siba wing in that whole area.
They are big with a Pioneer Sugar. Let me ask
you about this one real quick. And I'm thinking of
my wife. She's an elementary teacher loves this kind of stuff.
But I'm just thinking, like for kids and everything. Handcrafted
rock fountain kit that comes out of Blue Thumb in Saginaw.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yeah, absolutely, These are custom made decorative water features for landscaping.
Really beautiful stuff and really innovative when you think about
the technology that goes behind it and allows for every
consumer to have access to this.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
I see, I love.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Oh that's what I'm saying. Is my wife safe, little fountain.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
It's very peaceful.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
What happens next? You still are looking for votes on
this now that we're down to the top ten, right,
that's exactly right.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
We have about a week to go in this second
round of voting, and that runs through Wednesday, October first,
So folks can log onto my Coolest Thing dot org.
That's mii Cooolest Thing dot org and you can vote
for your favorite Michigan made products up until October first,
(03:58):
and this round of voting will allow us to determine
the top three contenders that will go into our November
twentieth Manufacturing Excellence Awards gala, and there we will reveal
the top ultimate coolest Thing made in Michigan.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Delaney, I'm going to have you give that website again
so people can put it in their memory bank, especially
if they're driving to work or wherever. Because also when
you go there, not only do you vote, but you
get better descriptions of just some of the things that
we talked about, but all ten.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Right, absolutely, when you go to my Coolest Thing dot
org MI Cooolest Thing dot Org you can check out
more information about all ten contenders, you can see past winners,
and you can get connected not only with the Michigan
Manufacturers Association we've been putting on this program since twenty eighteen,
but you can also connect with those nominees.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Oh that's so cool. I love some shopping. No, Laney,
this is so sweet. Delaney McKinley, executive vice president of
Operations for the Michigan Manufacture Association. The top ten coolest
things made in Michigan. We've got this in the podcast
section at woodradio dot com. Thank you so much of
a great morning.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Thank you both
And welcome into West Michigan's Morning News, the Thursday edition.
I am Schmidty and for Steve Kelly, Brett Bakita is
here and on the live line. I love talking about
Michigan made stuff. Delaney McKinley is the executive vice president
of Operations for the Michigan Manufacturers Association. Delaney, good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good morning, Thanks so much for having me on.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Well, of course, anytime we see this list come out,
we've got to talk to you the top ten coolest
things Made in Michigan so quickly kind of talk to
us about how this competition came to be absolutely.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
So, you know, and just as you started this segment
saying that Michigan has been a hub of innovation for
absolutely generations and that spirit of innovation is really at
the heart of why we started the Coolest Thing Made
in Michigan competition. We started, and when we last spoke
with Steve and Brett, we started with twenty five diverse nominees,
and after thousands of votes have been cast, we're down
(00:57):
to the top ten contenders.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
All Right, de lady, I see there's one in our
listening area, which is good. Makes it a great competition
because you got east, you got west, you got north
against south, but heel heal roam three point fifty virtual
dog leash. I love this in Holland, Smithy's got to
hear about this.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Tell us absolutely, And I am a dog owner, so
I absolutely love this one too. It is a first
ever virtual leash that it's designed to keep up to
three dogs near their owners. So what this is. It
doesn't use cellular or GPS, but it keeps your dogs
within a perimeter of you from ten feet up to
(01:36):
seven hundred and fifty feet. So if you're camping, you're hiking,
you're at a dog park, you can make sure they're
right next to you.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
What I'll tell you, I made the Facebook page a
week into the new neighborhood we lived in as my
dog's escaped, so that would be great. I love this, lady.
I need directional wheels out of Albion.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
These are incredible conceptual innovations in Albion. What they are
is they're motor powered wheels that enable precision movement of
massive loads. And when we're talking massive, I mean massive.
We've got machinery that's the size of buildings, and this
allows them to move in any direction. In a very
safe and precise way.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Okay, And I want to ask. I'm thinking this is
kind of food related. Talk to us about Pioneer Sugar.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Well, Pioneer Sugar is a leader in food manufacturing here
in Michigan, which by the way, is the fastest growing
segment of manufacturing in the state. But there are over
eight hundred and sixty five farm owners that contribute to this,
and they produce one point three billion pounds of sugar annually,
and I think about one hundred pounds of that goes
(02:41):
to me directly.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Yeah, they have a Killer Sugar festival over there, guess Oh. Yeah,
I've been over the Unionville Siba wing in that whole area.
They are big with a Pioneer Sugar. Let me ask
you about this one real quick. And I'm thinking of
my wife. She's an elementary teacher loves this kind of stuff.
But I'm just thinking, like for kids and everything. Handcrafted
rock fountain kit that comes out of Blue Thumb in Saginaw.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yeah, absolutely, These are custom made decorative water features for landscaping.
Really beautiful stuff and really innovative when you think about
the technology that goes behind it and allows for every
consumer to have access to this.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
I see, I love.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Oh that's what I'm saying. Is my wife safe, little fountain.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
It's very peaceful.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
What happens next? You still are looking for votes on
this now that we're down to the top ten, right,
that's exactly right.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
We have about a week to go in this second
round of voting, and that runs through Wednesday, October first,
So folks can log onto my Coolest Thing dot org.
That's mii Cooolest Thing dot org and you can vote
for your favorite Michigan made products up until October first,
(03:58):
and this round of voting will allow us to determine
the top three contenders that will go into our November
twentieth Manufacturing Excellence Awards gala, and there we will reveal
the top ultimate coolest Thing made in Michigan.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Delaney, I'm going to have you give that website again
so people can put it in their memory bank, especially
if they're driving to work or wherever. Because also when
you go there, not only do you vote, but you
get better descriptions of just some of the things that
we talked about, but all ten.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Right, absolutely, when you go to my Coolest Thing dot
org MI Cooolest Thing dot Org you can check out
more information about all ten contenders, you can see past winners,
and you can get connected not only with the Michigan
Manufacturers Association we've been putting on this program since twenty eighteen,
but you can also connect with those nominees.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Oh that's so cool. I love some shopping. No, Laney,
this is so sweet. Delaney McKinley, executive vice president of
Operations for the Michigan Manufacture Association. The top ten coolest
things made in Michigan. We've got this in the podcast
section at woodradio dot com. Thank you so much of
a great morning.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Thank you both
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