The Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry has named CLAAS Omaha Inc. of Sarpy County and MetalQuest Unlimited Inc. of Thayer County as the organization’s Nebraska Manufacturers of the Year.

MetalQuest received the award for small-sized manufacturers, while CLAAS received the award for large manufacturers, according to a release.

The awards recognize Nebraska manufacturers with innovative products, processes, technologies and strategies, the chamber said. The companies were honored at the chamber’s Digital Manufacturing Summit Series.

“Nebraska’s manufacturers are on the cutting edge of innovation that meets both typical demand and that of a pandemic-stricken nation,” Bryan Slone, chamber president, said in a release. “MetalQuest and CLAAS are cases in point. Their innovative cultures offer resilience and stability in uncertain times. We are grateful they’ve chosen Nebraska to build and grow.”

MetalQuest is headquartered in Hebron and produces tight-tolerance, precision, machined component parts for customers in 27 states.

“One of our core values is the ‘third idea,” said MetalQuest President Scott Harms. “If you have an idea and I have an idea, we put those together and get the third idea, which is hopefully better than each individual idea.”

 CLAAS came to Nebraska in 2001. It recently developed an apprenticeship program that mixes schooling and formal training in the company.

“CLAAS is a large, global leader in agricultural equipment, but it’s still small enough that we value the input of each of our employees,” said Matthias Ristow, president and managing director of business administration for CLASS Omaha Inc.

Nebraska has more than 1,500 manufacturers employing 100,000 workers – making 1 in 10 jobs in the state linked to manufacturing. The industry contributes more than $14 billion to the gross state product. Average wages in the industry exceed $66,000.