Nominate Products for 2026 Coolest Thing Made in Oregon
Nominate products for the 2026 Coolest Thing Made in Oregon contest. The nomination window will remain open through July 10.
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CELEBRATING MANUFACTURERS
Q&A with Outgoing OBI Board Chair Lori Olund
OBI asked Lori to talk about the role of OBI, the challenges Oregon businesses face, what motivated her to join OBI’s board, and more.
Vision Oregon Event Celebrates Entrepreneurs, Visionaries
OBI’s 2025 Vision Oregon event was a celebration of Oregon entrepreneurs, visionaries and producers of cool products.
Bullseye Glass Wins Coolest Thing Made in Oregon Contest
Portland art glass maker Bullseye Glass voted Coolest Thing Made in Oregon in 2025.
Oregon Business Matters Talks Manufacturing with OBI’s Duke Shepard
Oregon Business Matters focuses on insights, issues and initiatives that affect Oregonians’ shared prosperity and the state’s economy.
Coolest Thing Made in Oregon Final Set
The winner of the 2025 Coolest Thing Made in Oregon contest will be a rugged truck or art glass.
Coolest Thing Made in Oregon Field Cut to Final Four
Voters narrow field to four in 2025 Coolest Thing Made in Oregon contest.
Coolest Thing Made in Oregon Field Narrowed to Eight
Voting opens for the 2025 Coolest Thing Made in Oregon contest.
Vote Now for 16 Coolest Thing Made in Oregon Finalists
Voting opens for the 2025 Coolest Thing Made in Oregon contest.
Oregon Business Matters Talks with Brian Hall, CEO of NIC Industries
Oregon Business Matters focuses on insights, issues and initiatives that affect Oregonians’ shared prosperity and the state’s economy.
Richardson
Springfield-based Richardson is a leading custom, made-to-order headwear brand, serving baseball and softball teams, businesses and more.
Carestream
Carestream employs roughly 180 people in White City, where it specializes in digital medical imaging film and contract manufacturing.
Harry & David
Harry & David’s Oregon facility processes 650,000 pounds of butter, 680,000 pounds of popcorn and 3 million pounds of caramel annually.
Oregon Business Matters Talks with Epic Aircraft CEO Doug King
Oregon Business Matters focuses on insights, issues and initiatives that affect Oregonians’ shared prosperity and the state’s economy.
OBI Opposes Prevailing Wage Requirements for Manufacturers (Video)
Prevailing wage requirements traditionally apply to construction projects. Applying them to off-site manufacturers would represent a sweeping expansion that would cause difficulties for businesses and for state enforcement officials.
Epic Aircraft E1000 GX Voted Coolest Thing Made in Oregon
Epic Aircraft’s E1000 GX was voted the Coolest Thing Made in Oregon, defeating Leatherman’s iconic multitool.
OBI Releases 2024 State of Oregon Manufacturing Report
Manufacturing in Oregon remains strong. But the 2024 Condition of Oregon’s Manufacturing Sector report highlights significant problems that require the attention of policymakers. These include scarce developable land, Oregon’s tax climate and its high cost of living.
Webinar Recording: 2024 Oregon Manufacturing Sector Report
The webinar marks the release of an ECOnorthwest report analyzing trends in Oregon’s manufacturing sector
Fort George Brewery
Old Oregon meets new Oregon in Fort George Brewery, which produces and packages most of its beer in a facility that once made cans for the salmon and tuna fishery.
Hampton Lumber
Portland-based Hampton Lumber employs about 800 people in Oregon, where it operates three mills. In 2023, the company was the seventh largest softwood lumber producer in the United States.
Beaverton Foods
Founded nearly a century ago, Hillsboro-based Beaverton Foods has established itself as the nation’s largest manufacturer of gourmet condiments.
Pacific Stainless Products
Thanks to its ability to produce just about anything for anybody, Pacific Stainless Products has become one of the largest metal manufacturers on the West Coast.
Bornstein Seafoods
Bornstein Seafoods is a primary seafood processor. It sells most of its seafood to distributors, which service restaurants, grocery stores and other retail businesses.
A.R.E Manufacturing and Tiger Manufacturing
A.R.E. Manufacturing co-founder Alvin Elbert has created both a successful manufacturing business and a popular high school program for aspiring machinists, Tiger Manufacturing.
Gunderson Marine & Iron
Gunderson Iron & Marine builds barges, recovery vessels, specialized military ships and manages other complex projects at its 58-acre shipyard in Portland, where the company employs about 350 people.
OBI Member Profile: NIC Industries
NIC Industries manufactures high-quality powder coatings as well liquid-ceramic coatings used in a wide range of applications, including firearms, sporting goods, medical, automotive, aerospace and defense.
OBI Member Profile: Cv International
Bend-based Cv International manufactures mobile nitrogen generators, nitrogen maintenance kits and a wide array of maintenance platforms for military and civilian aircraft.
Freres Mass Ply Panels Win 2023 Coolest Thing Made in Oregon Contest
Freres Engineered Wood’s Mass Ply panels have won the inaugural Coolest Thing Made in Oregon contest, topping more than 150 products nominated and voted on by Oregonians
ICYMI: From Towers to Terminals, Freres Product Has Mass-Timber Mojo
Freres Engineered Wood has translated its expertise in Douglas fir veneer production into a cross laminated timber product composed of many thin layers, a design that provides great strength and rigidity..
Nuance Systems Inc. (NSI)
NSI manufactures precise gas and chemical delivery systems for the semiconductor, LED and solar-panel industries
QB Fabrication & Welding Plays Key Role in Northwest Power Grid
Ben Quach, who escaped Vietnam with his family in 1976, started the company in the back yard of his Vancouver home and focused initially on emergency contract work.
Daimler Truck North America Pursues Efficiency, Zero Emissions
Production of the heavy-duty Freightliner eCascadia began last year. Production of the company’s electric box truck, the eM2, will begin by the end of this year.
Duckwall Fruit Continues to Adapt to Serve the Hood River Valley
Duckwall Fruit has served Oregon’s Hood River Valley for more than a century, packing and shipping pears and other fruit while developing new markets and weathering pandemic-related disruptions and workforce shortages.
Greenbrier Reduces Fall Risk with Automated Rail Car Hatch
The Greenbrier Companies has developed a hatch for covered hopper rail cars that opens and closes automatically, eliminating the need for workers to climb on cars
How a Manufacturer Created a Community Child Care Program
Boardman Foods created an after-school program for employees in 2004. Then COVID happened, creating a demand for full-day child care. Company officials now run a community day care program at the Port of Morrow.
Bullseye Glass: Portland Company Combines Manufacturing and Art
Southeast Portland-based Bullseye Glass created a process to fuse glass of different colors, allowing for the creation of glass paintings. The company also produces glass for historical restoration, including the windows in the U.S. Capitol cupola.
Georgia-Pacific Juno Facility Reclaims Paper Fiber from Trash
Georgia Pacific’s Juno facility, in Toledo, separates paper fiber from about 70,000 tons of household trash every year and uses it to make cardboard used in corrugated boxes.
Looptworks: Portland Manufacturer Turns Landfill-Bound Material into Stylish Bags, Apparel
Portland manufacturer Looptworks uses material headed for landfills to produce bags, apparel and other upcycled merchandise.
Roy Manufacturing and Profile Laser: Metal Fabrication for Art and Industry
Roy Manufacturing and Profile Laser, Portland-based sister companies, serve a wide range of clients across the country. Their metal fabrication work is used by sculptors and architects as well as companies that screen seeds and aggregate.
Boeing’s Jumbo Manufacturing Role in Oregon
Boeing has a significant footprint in Oregon, machining airliner parts in Gresham, developing unmanned aerial vehicles in Hood River and improving manufacturing technology through its work with the Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center in Scappoose.
Willamette Technical Fabricators
Willamette Technical Fabricators specializes in complex, custom manufacturing projects ranging from steel boats that can be squeezed between barges to complex pipes used in pumped-storage hydropower facilities.
Roseburg Forest Products
Roseburg Forest Products operates seven plants in Oregon and 14 elsewhere in North America. It employs about 2,200 people in Oregon and manufactures a variety of products, including engineered wood, veneer and medium-density fiberboard.
A to Z Wineworks
Most people don’t think of wine makers as manufacturing operations. But Oregon’s highly successful A to Z Wineworks shows why they should.
Miles Fiberglass & Composites
Miles Fiberglass & Composites has manufactured products in Oregon since its founding in 1963. Run by Lori Olund, the company specializes in custom work.
Ponderosa Forge & Ironworks
Tour Ponderosa Forge & Ironworks in Sisters, OR as part of Oregon Business & Industry’s annual Celebrating Manufacturers event. See for yourself how manufacturing powers our economy and supports our local communities.
A-dec, Inc.
Tour A-dec in Newberg, OR as part of Oregon Business & Industry’s annual Celebrating Manufacturers event. See for yourself how manufacturing powers our economy and supports our local communities.
ESCO, A Weir Group Division
We engineer and manufacture technology that is used in some of the harshest environments on earth. That includes mining hard rock, which produces the copper that is essential to electric vehicles, renewable energy and large infrastructure projects in cities.
Tillamook County Creamery Association – The Home of Cheddar Cheese and More
Tillamook County Creamery Association’s roots in Oregon are wide and deep. It expands to 80 farmer-owners, to 900-plus employees making cheese and more, and to communities across the country who are experiencing Tillamook products.
Hampton Lumber
Hampton Lumber is a fourth-generation, family-owned wood products manufacturer and forestland owner, with roughly 1,700 employees.
Eberhard’s Dairy
Eberhard’s Dairy produces award-winning, milk, organic milk, buttermilk, butter, cottage cheese, sour cream, and ice cream.
Pendleton Woolen Mills
Pendleton Woolen Mills creates quality products that embody craftsmanship, enrich lives and connect generations.
Oregon Fruit Products
Oregon Fruit Products offers canned, frozen and shelf-stable premium fruit for consumers, food service operators and ingredient sales.
Tucker Sno-Cat Corporation
Tucker Sno-Cat designs, manufactures and sells machines for snow grooming, snow removal, search and rescue, ambulance and more.