2 companies take top honors at SBJ's Coolest Things Made in Missouri

Last edited 10:03 a.m., Feb. 26, 2026 [Editor's note: A misidentified name has been corrected.]

Two manufacturing companies were recognized with top honors last night at Springfield Business Journal's Coolest Things Made in Missouri event.

In all, 16 products manufactured in the state of Missouri were honored during the event at Branson Convention Center. The event previously known as Coolest Things Made in the Ozarks went statewide this year.

SBJ owner and Publisher Marty Goodnight said at the event that more than 70 businesses applied for the Coolest Things Made in Missouri.

"We are all in this together," Goodnight said. "We are all fans of manufacturing in this state, and we are excited to tell your story."

Event attendees were asked to vote on their favorite product out of the 16 finalists. Based on the vote, Maryville-based Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp. USA's Kawasaki EVO series engines won the Showcase Award.

"Our customers are always our driver," said Scott James, the company's director of operations, in its Coolest Things Made in Missouri profile. "We’re always looking for how to better meet their needs in their market, and really our customers were looking for something more powerful, and more efficient, so they could perform their jobs, their landscaping work more efficiently, and also be more profitable in their businesses." 

The Top Honors Award went to Rolla-based Brewer Science Inc. for its antireflective coatings product. The award recognized the company with the highest overall score by an independent panel of judges.

Tracy Jenkins, corporate relations representative for Brewer Science, said in the company's Coolest Things Made in Missouri profile that company founder Tracy Brewer invented the antireflective coating for semiconductors. 

"Today that technology is still a vital element in the chip-making," Jenkins said. "So nearly 45 years later, it’s still an essential solution for those products. And without it, modern devices wouldn’t even be possible without that antireflective coating."

The full roster of SBJ's 2026 Coolest Things Made in Missouri is below: 

• ABEC Inc., custom single-run bioreactor (Springfield)  
• American Products, AP-DATA data center enclosure (Strafford)  
• Askinosie Chocolate LLC, 72%Mababu, Tanzania Dark Chocolate Bar (Springfield)   
• Brewer Science Inc., antireflective coatings (Rolla)  
• Brunswick Corp., Lowe Boats Roughneck Pathfinder (Lebanon)  
• Cardinal Scale Manufacturing Co., Armor truck scales (Webb City)  
• Cooper Gear and Manufacturing Inc., precision gears (Anderson)  
• Gray Manufacturing Co. Inc., wireless portable lift system (St. Joseph)  
• Hammons Products Co., black walnuts (Stockton)  
• I.V. House Inc., TLC Splints (St. Louis) 
• Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp. USA, Kawasaki EVO series engines (Maryville)  
• Morris Packaging LLC, sustainable and flexible packaging (Jefferson City)  
• Orscheln Products LLC, fluid level indicators (Moberly)  
• ReNuTeqHoldings LLC, structural engineered bamboo (St. Charles)   
• Vroom Solar MO Inc., Vroom 3000 (Springfield)  
• Watson Custom Tanks, stainless steel process tanks (Springfield)  

Company profiles are available here.