Florida Chamber narrows 'Coolest Thing Made in Florida' to Hawkeye vs. ankle implant

A Navy surveillance aircraft built in St. Augustine and a surgical implant made in Naples are the last two products standing in the Florida Chamber of Commerce's second annual Coolest Thing Made in Florida competition. Northrop Grumman's E-2D Advanced Hawkeye and Arthrex's TightRope PRO ankle implant were named the Top 2 finalists this week, and the winner will be announced Oct. 28 at the Florida Chamber's Future of Florida Forum in Orlando.

The matchup pits two very different sides of Florida manufacturing against each other: a large, complex military aircraft assembled in St. Johns County, and a small medical device designed and produced in Collier County that helps patients recover from a common but troublesome ankle injury. Both represent the kind of high-skill, high-wage production that state business leaders have been working to grow.

The Florida Chamber runs the competition with FloridaCommerce, the state's economic development agency. This year's contest started with more than 100 products nominated from across all 67 Florida counties, and the field was narrowed through rounds of public voting.

The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye: eyes of the fleet

The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye is an airborne early warning and command-and-control aircraft flown by the U.S. Navy. Its most recognizable feature is the large rotating radar dome mounted on top of the fuselage, which allows the crew to detect and track aircraft, ships and other targets at long range and pass that information to fighter jets, ships and commanders.

The Hawkeye operates from aircraft carriers, which makes it one of the few fixed-wing surveillance planes designed to launch by catapult and land with an arresting hook at sea. Its twin turboprop engines and distinctive four-fin tail are familiar sights on carrier flight decks. The Navy uses the aircraft to extend the reach of a carrier strike group's awareness far beyond what ships' own radars can see.

Northrop Grumman builds the E-2D at its facility in St. Augustine, where workers handle final assembly and testing before aircraft are delivered to the Navy. The site is one of the larger aerospace manufacturing operations in Northeast Florida and is a significant employer in St. Johns County. The aircraft's presence in the final round highlights the role defense manufacturing plays in the state's economy, from the Space Coast to the First Coast.

The E-2D is the latest generation of a Hawkeye family that has served the Navy for decades. Compared with earlier models, the Advanced Hawkeye carries a more powerful radar, upgraded mission computers and a modernized cockpit, improvements meant to help it track smaller and faster targets and to work as a networked hub for other aircraft and ships. The aircraft has also been sold to allied nations, including Japan, extending the reach of Florida-built aerospace hardware well beyond U.S. forces.

Arthrex's TightRope PRO: a fix for high ankle injuries

Arthrex's entry is far smaller but no less technical. The TightRope PRO implant is used to treat injuries to the syndesmosis, the connection between the two lower-leg bones, the tibia and fibula, just above the ankle joint. Injuries to that connection are often called high ankle sprains and are common in athletes, though they can happen to anyone who twists an ankle forcefully or suffers certain fractures.

When the syndesmosis is badly disrupted, surgeons need to hold the two bones in proper alignment while the ligaments heal. Arthrex's TightRope approach uses a strong suture and button construct to stabilize the joint, an alternative to the traditional method of placing metal screws across the bones. Suture-button devices are designed to provide stability while allowing some natural motion between the bones.

Arthrex, headquartered in Naples, is one of Southwest Florida's largest private employers and a global medical device company focused on orthopedics and sports medicine. The company's presence in the Top 2 underscores how life sciences and medical device manufacturing have become a meaningful part of Florida's industrial base.

Syndesmotic injuries are often more serious than a typical rolled ankle. They can take significantly longer to heal and, if not treated properly, may lead to lingering pain, instability or arthritis. That is why accurate diagnosis and stable fixation matter, and why orthopedic surgeons have spent years refining the devices used to repair the joint. Professional and college athletes, including football and soccer players, are frequently sidelined by high ankle sprains, which has helped raise public awareness of the injury.

Arthrex was founded in 1981 and later moved its headquarters to Naples, where it has grown into a major manufacturer and a fixture of the Collier County economy. The company designs and produces a broad catalog of products used in arthroscopic and orthopedic surgery and operates a large campus in the Naples area.

How the field narrowed

The competition began with more than 100 products from every corner of the state, from consumer goods to heavy industrial equipment. Successive rounds, which included public voting, cut that list to a Final Four before the Top 2 were announced.

The other two Final Four finalists were Koozie Group's Garyline Cubbie RPET bottle, made in Pinellas County, and Sandvik Mining's electric rotary blasthole drills, made in Alachua County. The Cubbie is a reusable drink bottle made with recycled PET plastic, a reflection of growing demand for products made with recycled materials. Sandvik's drills are large machines used in surface mining to bore holes for blasting, and the company's electric versions reflect the mining industry's push to reduce diesel use.

The final four spanned four regions of the state: Northeast Florida, Southwest Florida, Tampa Bay and North Central Florida. Organizers have said one goal of the contest is to show Floridians that manufacturing is happening in their own communities, not just in traditional industrial states.

Last year's winner and the contest's goals

The competition launched in 2025. The inaugural winner was Chromalloy, based in Palm Beach Gardens, for its jet engine blades, according to the Florida Chamber. Chromalloy produces FAA-approved replacement parts for the high-pressure turbine section of aircraft engines. The company has said it designs the parts in Palm Beach Gardens, casts them in Tampa and machines and coats them in Oldsmar, making the blades a product of multiple Florida communities.

The 2025 competition drew more than 400,000 votes, according to the Florida Chamber. The Chamber has described the contest as a way to celebrate the innovation, talent and economic impact of the state's manufacturing sector and to spotlight the workers behind the products.

Similar contests run by chambers and manufacturing associations in other states have become popular in recent years, often serving as both a marketing tool for local manufacturers and a recruitment pitch for young workers considering careers in skilled trades and engineering.

Florida's manufacturing push

Florida is better known for tourism, agriculture, construction and real estate, but manufacturing has grown into a significant part of the state economy. The Florida Chamber has reported that Florida now ranks among the top 10 states for manufacturing employment, and state employment figures cited in recent reporting put Florida's manufacturing workforce at roughly 430,000 jobs.

The Chamber's Florida 2030 Blueprint, its long-term economic plan, sets a goal of making Florida a top five state for manufacturing jobs. Business leaders argue that manufacturing jobs tend to pay more than the state's average wage and help diversify an economy that can be vulnerable to swings in tourism and housing.

Aerospace and defense, medical devices, electronics, food processing and boat building are among the state's leading manufacturing sectors. The two Top 2 finalists fall squarely into the first two categories, which have been central to economic development efforts in regions such as Northeast Florida, the Space Coast, Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida.

Workforce development is a recurring theme in those efforts. State colleges and technical centers have expanded programs in advanced manufacturing, welding, machining and aviation maintenance, and employers including aerospace firms and device makers have partnered with schools to build pipelines of trained workers.

Large manufacturers also support networks of smaller Florida suppliers. An aircraft assembly line or a medical device plant relies on machine shops, electronics firms, packaging companies, logistics providers and maintenance contractors, many of them small businesses. Economic developers often point to those supply chains when arguing that a single major manufacturer can anchor jobs well beyond its own payroll, and contests like this one are meant in part to draw attention to that wider ecosystem.

For communities like St. Augustine and Naples, both better known to visitors for history, beaches and golf than for factories, the spotlight offers a different picture of the local economy, one built on engineers, machinists, assemblers and technicians.

Manufacturing Week tours

As part of Manufacturing Week, the Florida Chamber is scheduled to tour Northrop Grumman's St. Augustine facility on Oct. 5, giving participants a look at where the Hawkeye is built. A visit to Arthrex is also planned and is expected to be scheduled, according to the Chamber.

Manufacturing Day, observed nationally in early October, is used by manufacturers across the country to open their doors to students, educators and community members. Florida events often focus on showing young people the range of careers available in modern factories, many of which rely on robotics, computer-controlled machining and specialized technical skills.

What's next

The winner of the 2026 Coolest Thing Made in Florida competition will be announced Oct. 28 at the Florida Chamber's Future of Florida Forum in Orlando, an annual gathering of business and policy leaders. Until then, the Chamber is promoting the two finalists and the companies' Florida operations.

Whichever product wins, it will join Chromalloy's jet engine blades as a symbol of the state's manufacturing ambitions. For St. Johns County and Collier County, the final round is already a chance to show that some of the most sophisticated products in their industries are being built in Florida.