Firefighting helicopter refill pump awarded “Coolest Thing Made in Illinois” in 2025

SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker announced the sixth annual winner of the “Makers Madness” contest Wednesday in Springfield.

Chosen in a bracket-style competition from a field of more than 250 products, MTH Pumps’ aerial firefighting helicopter refill pump is the 2025 “Coolest Thing Made in Illinois.” This specific pump was designed to cut the refill time of water tanks used on helicopters to fight fires in half, taking as little as 30 seconds to refill.

The contest is organized annually by the Illinois Manufacturers Association, a trade group that lobbies lawmakers in Springfield.

The product was used by fire departments in California to fight wildfires in January. Tim Tremain, president of MTH Pumps, said the Los Angeles Fire Department praised the pump, calling it, “very consistent, very helpful and very reliable out in the field.”

The Aerial Firefighting Helicopter Refill Pump made by MTH pumps in Plano. (Photo provided by MTH Pumps)

MTH Pumps is a family owned and operated business based in Plano, Illinois, that was started in 1965 by Tremain’s grandfather, Dave Tremain, who he thanked during the ceremony.

“What’s cool about it is the fact that we built it from scratch ourselves,” he said. “We designed it from the ground up and produced it ourselves right here in Illinois. And just the fact that these pumps are flying all around the world fighting fires is really an amazing thing to think about.”

Other finalists included an aircrew systems tester made by Chemring Energetic Devices of Downers Grove, donor breastmilk distributed by Mother’s Milk Bank of Western Great Lakes of Elk Grove Village and a remote-operated oil skimmer made by Elastec of Carmi.

Pritzker praised previous award winners during the ceremony, including Rivian’s R1T, the first all-electric truck in production, General Mills’ Fruit by the Foot, Mullin’s imitation French dressing and last year’s winner — a mining truck manufactured by Komatsu that features a hauling capacity of up to 400 tons.

“For generations, Illinois has been a place where things get made,” Pritzker said. “From John Deere and the first steel plow in Grand de Tour to Josephine Cochran and the first dishwasher in Shelbyville to Martin Cooper and the first cell phone in Schaumburg. So much of the world as we know it right now was made here in Illinois.”

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

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