The closing gala and awards ceremony of the IFOY Awards at the Dortmund U provided ample opportunity for Agilox, Crown, DS Automotion, Hunic, and Still to bask in the recognition of their successful development work and innovations. Jungheinrich celebrated two top placements.
At the Award Night, the winners received the international intralogistics award from prominent presenters in the presence of over 200 guests from business, science, politics, and the media. The ingenuity and technical achievements were recognized by, among others, Johannes Söllner (Managing Director, Geis Industrial Services), Professor Michael ten Hompel (Managing Director, Fraunhofer IML), Steffen Bersch (Chairman of the Board, VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association), and Dortmund's Mayor Thomas Westphal.
Photos: Chr. Doepgen (with kind permission)
The International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY) Award, under the patronage of Robert Habeck, the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, saw a record number of 21 companies with 23 products and solutions vying for the finals this year. Given the veritable flood of high-quality new developments, the jury faced exceptionally difficult decisions in April, according to Anita Würmser, CEO of IFOY. Representing Switzerland, in addition to jury members from all continents, forklift instructor and LogisticsInnovation CTO Martin Schmid, Christian Doepgen, Editor-in-Chief of the International Transport Magazine ITJ, and Klaus Koch, Editor-in-Chief of the online platform LogisticsInnovation.org, participated in the electronic voting process. Anita Würmser stated: "This year's finalists are, in some cases, miles ahead of their competitors in terms of innovation and customer benefits. Their products and solutions will set the benchmark for modern distribution centers in the future.".
Agilox won the IFOY Award in the "Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV/AMR)" category with the Agilox ODM. This omnidirectional dolly mover is a smart logistics robot for small load carriers. Thanks to X-Swarm Technology, the solution for floor dollies autonomously finds the fastest route through the production or logistics environment. The jury particularly praised the robot's ability to avoid obstacles along its route.
Crown's SP 1500 order picker won in the "Warehouse Truck highlifter" category. The machine impressed with its performance, efficiency, and ergonomics. The IFOY Innovation Check highlighted its "unique ergonomics with numerous configuration options developed directly from customer studies." Also emphasized were its "suitability for use in various aisle widths, its uniquely customizable controls, and its excellent field of vision.".
In the "Intralogistics Software" category, DS Automotion took home a trophy for its Arcos vehicle software. This IT system enables AGV and AMR fleets to operate variably, zone-based, and with a single, flexible vehicle software, switching between fixed lane guidance, lane guidance with flexible avoidance, and free navigation (plannable autonomy). Combined with cooperative navigation, which allows the robots to coordinate avoidance, the manufacturer offers a highly efficient solution, according to the jury. This solution can also integrate vehicles from other manufacturers via the VDA 5050 interface.
Start-ups of the Year
A total of five young companies competed for the "Start-up of the Year" award this year. In the closely contested competition, Hunic ultimately impressed the judges with its SoftExo Lift. This passive exoskeleton is an extremely lightweight yet effective lifting and carrying aid. It provides up to 21 percent support for skilled workers when lifting and carrying loads, relieving strain on the body by up to 50 percent. Furthermore, the device alerts the user to incorrect movements. According to the judges, the major innovation lies in the exoskeleton's design, which uses only elastic materials.
Jungheinrich won the "Special of the Year" category with its "addedVIEW forklift camera." This fully digital forklift camera with barcode scanning reduces storage and retrieval errors. It prevents incorrectly recorded goods or storage locations in the Warehouse Management System (WMS), thus avoiding unplanned search times, returns, and losses. The camera reads barcodes directly at the storage location, compares them with WMS specifications, and color-codes correct and incorrect locations as it passes by. Confirmation is done via the steering wheel. Although the individual technologies are not new in themselves, the judges concluded that "the combination in this exemplary implementation is highly innovative.".
Jungheinrich took home a second trophy. Flexible, fast, efficient: With the PowerCube, the company secured victory in the "Intralogistics Robot" category. This automated compact storage system for containers allows access from below, simplifying maintenance and accommodating variable ceiling heights. The jury highlighted several innovations, including a container load capacity of 50 kilograms and a fast-charging function for 24/7 operation of the robots without downtime.
Intralogistics provider Still won one of the coveted awards for the EXH 16 in the "Warehouse Truck Lowlifter" category. The unit is part of the EXH 14-20 Plus series – hand-operated low-lift pallet trucks and derivatives with an additional lift for order picking. The compact design, combined with the new functional tiller head and the resulting improvements in operation and driving characteristics, was rated as "undoubtedly new" by the IFOY Innovation Check. The EXH thus demonstrates that innovation in this vehicle class is far from over.
The IFOY is organized by the Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association and the Robotics + Automation Association within the VDMA (German Engineering Federation). Partners include Messe Dortmund and Cascade, the world's leading manufacturer of forklift attachments. Chep is the pallet partner, LTG the logistics partner, and Fliegl the trailer partner.
