GREEN BAY (NBC26) — Nominees for every Grammy Award receive a medal made in Green Bay.
This month, NBC 26 has partnered with the Green Bay Chamber to show how items from Purple Hearts to graduation medallions are made.
- Get an inside look at Medalcraft Mint's Green Bay factory
- Medalcraft Mint makes 1.5 million medals and commemorative coins every year
- They have made inaugural coins for five U.S. presidents
- The business was founded as the West Shore Manufacturing Company by two brothers in Kewaunee in 1948
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
1.5 million medals are made by one Green Bay manufacturer every year. In fact, Medalcraft mint says it is the medal-making leader in North America.
"It was a lot of hard work, but it's paid off," Jerry Moran, Medalcraft Mint President, said.
Jerry has owned the business for 17 years.
Founded as the West Shore Manufacturing Company by two brothers in Kewaunee in 1948, Medalcraft Mint is now based in Green Bay. The company makes pressed metal medallions for special occasions, with customers ranging from schools to the CIA.
"What we make, it's commemorating somebody for doing something, so I always think that that's special," Jerry said. "Whether it's a graduation, whether its a[n] inauguration, no matter what it is."
U.S. presidents are among their most notable clientele. Medalcraft has made the official inaugural coin for George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
Right now, the company is also working on making medals for all Grammy nominees which they said we cannot show on the air or online. But, it's something Medalcraft Mint done for years now.
"We take a lot of pride in the product that we make and we see that within the customers that we deal with," Medalcraft Mint Vice President of Sales Tony Moran said. "Whether it's a challenge coin given away by a high-ranking military official to a service member, or if it's a donor network medal that's given to a family whose family member had passed away and donated that organ."
This Manufacturing Month, Jerry has a message for those who might be unfamiliar with the business.
"Manufacturing is not a dirty word," Jerry said. "I want people to know that it's good, hardworking people in good paying jobs."
Up next for Medalcraft Mint: making special badges for police officers to wear during the 2025 NFL Draft.
