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2025 Oshkosh Excellence awards displayed on a table

Celebrating innovation and supporting community at the 12th annual Oshkosh Excellence Awards

June 23, 2025

The Oshkosh Excellence Awards (OEAs) are an annual, companywide competition open to team members across the portfolio of Oshkosh brands. The program was created to recognize innovation, highlight outstanding achievements and celebrate those who make Oshkosh extraordinary – all while giving back to the communities where Oshkosh operates and team members live.

2025: By the numbers

In its 12th year, the 2025 OEAs received 974 submissions from 12 countries: United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Guam, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. Each submission falls within one of three categories: Cheers to Peers, Quick Win or Project.

Cheers to Peers recognizes individuals who exemplify our core values by going above and beyond to support fellow team members, strengthen our business or make a positive impact in our communities.
A Quick Win highlights innovation through a small improvement that makes a big impact on operational excellence.
A Project is an initiative or program that innovates, serves or advances our customers, our team members or our business.

This year 36 entries were scored as winners — 12 Cheers to Peers, 8 Quick Win and 16 Project — distinguishing the individuals and teams who went above and beyond, turned ideas into impact and exemplified Oshkosh’s purpose of making a difference in people’s lives while empowering everyday heroes. The winners of each category receive a $3,500 donation to a nonprofit of their choice and are invited to the Oshkosh Global Headquarters for in-person recognition at the annual OEA ceremony. Quick Win and Project winners participate in a final round of in-person judging to determine the grand prize winners, who receive an additional $5,000 charitable donation.

Grand Prize winners: Improving culture and business

Through innovation, excellence and impact, the 2025 OEA grand prize winners celebrate the individuals and teams who live the Oshkosh core values and brought the Oshkosh purpose to life through creative thinking, determination and a clear focus on the everyday heroes who rely on our products around the world.

A Quick Win might sound like a quick and easy task but the vision and strategy of the winning submissions made for impactful improvements to the Oshkosh culture and business. There were 353 Quick Win submissions, eight winners and two grand prize winners in 2025.

Quick Win Grand Prize Winner – Business Impact: Bridging the Gap: How Oshkosh Corporation Stayed Afloat After the Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Summary: The judges were impressed by this Quick Win’s speed of response to a problem, mastery of their subject area, decision making and ability to serve our customers through a catastrophic event.
Charity: Jake’s Network of Hope

Quick Win Grand Prize Winner – Culture: Sandblasting Booth Communication

Summary: This Quick Win showcased how a safety-first mindset and care for team members can benefit productivity, accelerate training, improve visibility and strengthen safety culture. This proactive, people-first initiative now serves as a standard for safe, efficient operations in high-risk environments.
Charity: Youth Impact Ogden

Oshkosh Corporation CEO, John Pfeifer, alongside Anu Khare and Oshkosh team members at the 2025 Oshkosh Excellence Awards

Quick Win Grand Prize Winner: Bridging the Gap

Quick Win Grand Prize Winner: Sandblasting Booth Communication

In the 294 submissions in the Project category, team members shared how they streamlined, transformed, advanced, developed, collaborated and delivered throughout the last year. Oshkosh was proud to name 16 Project winners and four grand prize winners.

Project Grand Prize Winner – Business Impact: Sandy & Dusty Prime Time

Summary: Judges noted how this project improved a working environment with an innovative, scalable solution that focused on safety while increasing capacity. The innovation has been approved for use across the Oshkosh portfolio.
Charity: Down with Mylsetones

Project Grand Prize Winner – Business Impact: Automated Side Loader High Flow First Assembly Line

Summary: This project reimagined a major assembly line to unlock growth, empower team members and lay the foundation for long-term safety and productivity.
Charity: Paws and Claws of Rochester Minnesota

Project Grand Prize Winner – Business Impact: Doing the Impossible – EMEA Final Assembly Industrialization Planning

Summary: Judges were impressed by this team’s creativity, audacity and world-wide, cross-functional collaboration to tackle what many thought was impossible to deliver, within one year, a full industrial transition.
Charity: Associzione Bottega Dei Talenti Caterina & Frencesca APS

Project Grand Prize Winner – Culture: QPR Ask A Question, Save A Life

Summary: Addressing a challenge that is often silent but deeply important to team members, judges noted this team’s response to create effective, scalable training that has been delivered to over 1,200 team members. Backed by personal testimony, this project showcased that culture change begins with compassion and the courage to ask one question.
Charity: Community for Hope

Project Grand Prize Winner: Sandy & Dusty Prime Time

Project Grand Prize Winner: Automated Side Loader High Flow First Assembly Line

Project Grand Prize Winner: EMEA Final Assembly Industrialization Planning

Project Grand Prize Winner: QPR Ask A Question, Save A Life

Highlighting the heart of Oshkosh

Each winning OEA team receives $3,500 from the Oshkosh Corporation Foundation to allocate to a nonprofit of their choice and the six grand prize winners will each receive an additional $5,000 to donate. By celebrating the innovation and core values of Oshkosh during the 2025 OEA program, $156,000 will be distributed to various human services, youth development, veteran, health and wellness, and environmental nonprofits. More than $1.5 million has been awarded to local nonprofits since the OEAs began.

Congratulations to the 2025 OEA nominees, our 36 winners and the six grand prize winners. From reimagining process to elevating the customer experience, our team members exemplify our core values, our continuous innovation and our commitment to everyday heroes around the world.