Great Lakes freighter built in Door County advances to next round of 'Coolest Things' contest

Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette
·3 min read
The 639-foot-long bulk carrier Mark W. Barker, shown in its dock at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, advanced to the Round of 8 in the bracket-style "Manufacturing Madness" tournament in the annual "Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin" contest sponsored by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. The winner of the contest is decided by online public voting. Bay Ship built the vessel, which set off on its maiden voyage July 28, and it's believed to be the first Great Lakes freighter built on the lakes since 1983.

MADISON - The 639-foot-long Great Lakes freighter built in Door County is still in the running for the 2022 "Coolest Things Made in Wisconsin" contest.

The M/V Mark W. Barker, built by Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, advanced to the Round of 8 in the annual Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce-sponsored contest by outpolling Aerozen Advanced Performance Coating System, an exterior coating made by Hentzen Coatings of Milwaukee that, among other uses, helps beautify and protect the exterior of the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels Super Hornet fighter aircraft.

The contest opened with 121 nominated products that were narrowed to a top 16 for the first round of what WMC calls "Manufacturing Madness," which pits each product head-to-head against another in a bracket format. Online public voting determined the winners of each matchup, which were announced Oct. 5.

The voting continues in the next week with the top eight matched in the next round of head-to-head competition, continuing until the last two winners face off for the "Coolest Thing" title. WMC says the goal of the contest is to highlight the state’s diverse manufacturing industry.

The Barker was nominated because it's the first U.S.-flagged, Great Lakes freighter to be built on the lakes in almost 40 years (since 1983). It had its launching ceremony Oct. 28 of last year and set off on its maiden voyage July 27 for Ohio-based Interlake Shipping Co. Its duties are to transport raw materials such as salt, iron ore and stone to customers throughout the Great Lakes region.

As the No. 5 seed, determined by the number of votes it received in the preliminary round, the Mark W. Barker now faces off against the fourth seed, the Tomberlin E-Merge Beachcomber. Built by Columbia Vehicle Group, an electric vehicle manufacturer in Reedsburg, the Beachcomber is a street-legal, low-speed electric transport with hybrid on/off road tires and cargo space that can traverse dirt roads and beaches as well as smoother surfaces.

Of the eight matchups in the first round, only one result was a "bracket buster" that saw the lower-seeded product get more votes than the higher seed it was competing against. That was the Mammoth 850, a four-wheel-drive snowplow/snowblower/power broom/salt and brine spreader from Ariens Co. in Brillion that, as the No. 11 seed, upset sixth-seeded Mighty Hoop, a magnetic embroidery tool made by HoopMaster of Germantown.

Online voting to determine the top four opens Oct. 6 and runs through Oct. 11, followed by the final round to determine the "Coolest Thing" from Oct. 13 to 19. The winner will be announced Oct. 19 during WMC's Business Day event in Madison. The public can cast a vote every day on any device.

To vote, visit madeinwis.com.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-741-7952, 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.

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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Door County-built freighter advances in 'Coolest Things' contest