SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — After more than 250 initial entries, a winner has been crowned in the sixth annual “Makers Madness” contest.

The Aerial Firefighting Helicopter Refill Pump made by MTH Pumps in Plano has been named “The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois” in the 2025 edition of the tournament. This pump was designed to reduce the refill time of helicopter-based water tanks from over a minute to as little as 30 seconds.

The product aims to increase the number of water drops that aerial firefighters can release onto a wildfire. This time advantage improves the chances of slowing and stopping fires from endangering lives, property and animal habitats.

Recently, when the wildfires were causing havoc in California, MTH Pumps provided improved water access to the aerial firefighting teams with this product. The MTH Pumps team joined Governor JB Pritzker on stage to accept their award at a luncheon at the Governor’s Mansion in Springfield on Wednesday.

“As the second smallest company to win the ‘Makers Madness’ contest, I’d like to dedicate this award to all the small manufacturers of Illinois who do their part to produce amongst the best, most creative products that the world has to offer,” said Tim Tremain, MTH Pumps President.

The TCCI Electric Compressor made by TCCI Manufacturing in Decatur made it to the top 16 round, but would lose to the eventual champion. Over the course of this year’s eight-week competition, almost 411,000 total votes were cast.

To watch this year’s full award ceremony, visit Pritzker’s Facebook page.