More than 20 Wisconsin employers have been named 2020 Manufacturer of the Year (MOTY) Honorees for their tremendous response to the COVID-19 pandemic and their commitment to the state and their communities.

The program’s partners – Baker Tilly, Michael Best and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) – chose to expand the number of companies receiving recognition after seeing an overwhelming commitment by the industry to step up in a time of need.

“The private sector won’t sit on the sidelines during a crisis,” said WMC President & CEO Kurt Bauer. “Manufacturers were pivotal to ensuring Wisconsinites could get through a tumultuous year. We all owe Wisconsin manufacturers and their employees a debt of gratitude for their efforts over the last 12 months.”

This list of honorees includes employers who shifted manufacturing lines to make personal protective equipment (PPE) and COVID-19 swab sticks. It includes businesses who supported their local community through additional charity work and food donations to frontline healthcare workers. And it includes manufacturers who innovated to speed up production for local supply chains.

“Manufacturers have always been innovators,” said Greg Sofra, Wisconsin Manufacturing and Distribution Leader for accounting and advisory firm Baker Tilly. “Despite the challenges of the last year we saw how the manufacturing industry adapted to keep our state and our economy running.”

To help tell these stories, the MOTY awards program will launch a brand new podcast on Friday. Wisconsin Made. The Podcast. will feature a number of 2020 honorees talking about how they navigated their businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This new podcast speaks to Wisconsin manufacturer’s incredible resilience, adaptive workforces and advanced technologies,” said David Krutz, Firm Managing Partner at the law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP.  “We’re excited to share these powerful stories not only with people statewide, but nationwide.”

 The 2020 Manufacturer of the Year Honorees are:

• Ahlstrom-Munksjo – Kaukauna
• Animix LLC – Juneau
• Bassett Mechanical – Kaukauna
• Beyond Vision – Milwaukee
• Briess Malt & Ingredients Co. – Chilton
• Carnivore Meat Company – Green Bay
• CMD Corporation – Appleton
• Curt G. Joa, Inc. – Sheboygan Falls
• Door County Coffee & Tea Co. – Sturgeon Bay
• Fox Valley Metal-Tech, Inc. – Green Bay
• Freedom – Milton
• Greenheck Fan Corp. – Schofield
• Krueger International Inc. – Green Bay
• Linetec – Wausau
• Nicolet Plastics LLC – Jackson
• OEM Fabricators – Woodville
• PartsBadger, LLC – Cedarburg
• Pindel Global Precision & PRODx – New Berlin
• Power Test, Inc. – Sussex
• Regal Ware, Inc. – Kewaskum
• Husky Energy Superior Refinery – Superior
• Teel Plastics LLC – Baraboo
• Tweet/Garot Mechanical, Inc. – De Pere
• Velocity Machine, Inc. – De Pere
• Vonco Products, LLC – Trevor