Jungheinrich, Still and UniCarriers were the big winners in the International Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY) awards announced last week in Munich.
Fourteen machines and solutions made it through to the final round this year, more than ever before, sparking "the most difficult decision the IFOY jury has ever had to make", according to Anita Würmser, head of the IFOY jury.
Jungheinrich took top honours in the counterbalance trucks up to 3.5 T category, with its EFG S30s electric forklift. "Jungheinrich was thinking ahead when it developed the new EFG S30s", said the citation which described the winner as an extremely driver-friendly machine with predictable handling that makes for a very comfortable ride. The jury called the EFG S30s a perfect all-rounder for the mass market, with an ergonomically and intelligently designed workplace that meets the needs of the new generation of drivers.
An electric forklift also led the field in the category of counterbalance trucks above 3.5 T, with the RX 60-80 eight-ton electric forklift from Still voted best truck of the year. "In this performance class, the series-produced RX 60-80 with electric drive represents a clear innovation providing significant benefits for the customer", according to judges who said the winner reflected "the trend towards electric forklifts has now finally arrived in the high-performance segment".
In addition to offering numerous ergonomic innovations, the eight-tonner impressed the jury with its power and agility. The maintenance-free and encapsulated drive unit complete with multidisk brakes make the 80 V truck the ideal machine for combined indoor and outdoor use.
The Tergo URS from UniCarriers carried the day in the warehouse truck category. The combined narrow-aisle and reach truck impressed the jury with its multifunctionality and its forward-looking ergonomic concept. In the words of the jury, "with the Tergo URS, UniCarriers combines the benefits of high warehouse density and reduced handling requirements, and also sets a benchmark in terms of ergonomic design. Operating characteristics are highly responsive and predictable, and meet the current market demand for efficiency and ergonomics in a unique way".
Still picked up a second IFOY Award for its general contractor project for the intralogistics concept for the new raw materials warehouse of Kuraray Europe GmbH. The key factor in the decision of the jury was the innovative combination of AGVs with a pallet shuttle system as well as the link-up of automatic and manually operated units. The jury said that Still succeeded in installing a fully functioning, failsafe 24/7 solution with state-of-the-art technology for Kuraray in the record time of just nine weeks, adding that this solution sets a new benchmark with an outstanding amortisation time of three years.
The IFOY Awards have been a highlight of the industry since 2013, and winners are selected each year by an independent jury of leading international trade journalists.