Three Capital Region Businesses Make The Top-8 For “Coolest Thing Made In NY”

So many amazing things have come out of New York manufacturing, from toilet paper to the photocopier, the Empire State knows how to innovate.

Read More: "Coolest Thing Made in New York" Could be from Upstate This Year

The state is always trying to find its next big thing, so for the past few years, a contest has been held to discover it...

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Coolest Thing Made in New York

Hosted by the Business Council of New York, "The Coolest Thing Made in New York" is a competition to show how strong our state's manufacturing and development is. Nominations are taken in in early summer, and then voted on, first by a popular vote from the public, and then by a panel of judges.

The product must be made in New York State using a manufacturing process. Companies are limited to one product a piece, and are ineligible in the next year's competition if they win.

2026 May be the Capital Region's Year

We have gotten ourselves into the Elite Eight, with eight separate products and businesses going head to head. Of those eight, three are Capital Region Businesses.

They are:

• Northeastern Association of the Blind (Albany)
  • The Space Force Cravat, created with tactile guides and programmable technology to allow blind employees to create with a degree of precision not yet seen
• Soleno LLC (Saratoga Springs)
  • KUSTOMFLO™ HDPE pipe manufactured using world-renowned KRAH technology and an adaptive production process that optimizes each pipe profile to meet specific requirements
• Townsend Leather (Johnstown)
  • Prism Iridescent Cowhide leather created using vegetable tanning agents and water-based pigments.

Voting for the Final Eight ends on August 30th. you can vote online HERE.