This year's IFOY Award was a real tour de force, with 21 nominees in eight categories. Representatives from Exotec, EP Equipment, Geekplus, Interroll, Jungheinrich, Plancise, and Still accepted their awards during the awards night at the Phoenix des Lumières in Dortmund. Start-up of the Year: Filics. 

In times when significant developments are pointing toward automation, especially the use of artificial intelligence, the insights from the auditors and review teams were remarkably decisive in the field of the best intralogistics designs. "The trend is toward automation, but simplicity (in application) leads to success," says Anita Würmser, Executive Chair of the IFOY jury.

 Laudators, moderated by Thilo Jörgl, crowned the awards ceremony with guests from business, science, and politics. Prominent guests such as Heike van Hoorn (Managing Director of the German Transport Forum), Markus Mau (President of the European Logistics Association), Thorsten Schmidt (Professor of Technical Logistics at TU Dresden), and Ronny Sassen (CEO of Rhenus Contract Logistics) praised the industry's progressiveness. Jan Drömer, Chairman of the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association, praised the fact that the IFOY is no longer just a competition between the industry's "big players," but also includes numerous smaller companies and start-ups.

Special of the Year for Interroll's MCP PLAY

"The field of finalists demonstrates the innovative power inherent in intralogistics. The jury's decisions reflect more than ever that volatile markets, increasing cost pressure, and an unresolved shortage of skilled workers require practical and cost-effective solutions rather than mere improvements," says IFOY Managing Director Anita Würmser. 

“Warehouse Truck of the Year”

In a tough competitive environment, a powerful yet simple electric pallet truck emerged victorious, impressing with its ease of operation and high performance in automatic operation: The X Mover EXP15 from EP Equipment won in the "Warehouse Truck of the Year" category.

The winners: Praise for the industry’s innovative strength.

A prime example of successful simplification in the automation of internal transport. The pallet truck, which can be used manually and autonomously, impressed with its robust construction, intuitive operation, and the "Record and Run" function, which allows routes to be learned without any programming knowledge or training. 

Robot Warehouse Systems

In the "Robot Warehouse Systems" category, the IFOY Award 2025 went to Exotec for its Next Generation Skypod system. This innovative robot generation from France impressed with its flatter design, increased dynamics, and extremely high density. As a single system component, the robot integrates the most important functions into a compact, all-in-one system without complex subsystems such as conveyor or sorting systems. Particularly impressive were the flexible sequencing during transport and the space utilization, even below the shelves.

“Integrated Customer Solutions”

In the premier category of "Integrated Customer Solutions," Geekplus from China took home the win in a very close finish with its automation of the new "Dr. Max" warehouse in Telgate near Bergamo. The jury considered the overall package of customer benefits, availability, and scalability with minimal personnel requirements to be decisive.

A brilliant production. Photos: klk.

In phase one, Geekplus Europe implemented a 1300-square-meter solution for 11,000 products in the e-commerce and pharmacy business. It utilizes 22 RoboShuttles for double-deep storage—up to five times more efficient in terms of space utilization—and 50 P40 robots for fast container transport.

«Special of the Year»

After a close battle in the "Special of the Year" category, Interroll from Switzerland won with MCP PLAY (Modular Conveyor Platform). The control solution for its modular container and carton conveyor platform enables the simple and rapid implementation of systems for packages weighing up to 50 kg and delivers energy savings of up to 30 percent. E-commerce retailers and 3PL service providers in particular benefit from throughput increases of up to 100 percent. The jury hailed this as a paradigm shift in conveyor technology. 

“Counter Balanced Truck of the Year”

Jungheinrich's EFG 425 was named "Counter Balanced Truck of the Year." The Hamburg-based manufacturer's powerful 3.5-ton electric forklift truck, designed for heavy-duty indoor and outdoor applications, impressed in the IFOY test with its powerful dual-motor drive and high handling capacity of up to 389 pallets per shift.

View of the control desk

The jury particularly praised the combination of robust construction, improved temperature stability during attachment operation and the ergonomic driver's cab.

“Intralogistics Software of the Year”

"Intralogistics Software of the Year" is "Workforce Management for Logistics" from Austria-based Plancise. This SaaS tool, specifically developed for larger logistics centers with more than 100 employees, digitizes the previously largely manual workforce planning process and adapts it to fluctuating volumes and seasonal requirements—a key capability in times of skilled labor shortages. Through dynamic, real-time capacity and daily planning, the cloud software detects understaffing or overstaffing and suggests targeted personnel relocations based on throughput forecasts, qualifications, and current capacity utilization. 

«Mobile Robot of the Year»

 Still won the "Mobile Robot of the Year" category with the FM-X iGo. The Hamburg-based manufacturer's first series-produced automated lithium-ion reach truck is considered a pioneer for the integration of autonomous technology into existing warehouse environments.

Back again: Still's  FM-X iGo

The jury was particularly impressed by the integrated safety technology according to ISO 3691-4, its narrow aisle width, the digital service concept based on a digital twin for each vehicle, and the intuitive commissioning via iGo easy software. It also explicitly addresses small and medium-sized businesses that have previously shied away from the challenges of complex automation projects.

Start-up of the Year

 Four young companies with disruptive potential competed for victory in the "Start-up of the Year Award." Munich-based start-up Filics prevailed with the Filics Unit – a CE-certified double-skid system consisting of two autonomous robots that can synchronously drive in and out of Euro pallets or Euro mesh boxes.

The double runners from Filics.

The jury particularly highlighted the high-quality in-house developments in lifting and driving modules, the flexible use in brownfield applications, and the potential for automated truck loading and unloading.

www.ifoy.org

The winners at a glance

• - EP Equipment: X MOVER EXP15
• - Exotec: Skypod System
• - Geekplus: RoboShuttle + P40 Tote-to-Person Solution with Dr. Max Italy
• - Interroll: MCP PLAY
• - Jungheinrich: EFG 425
• - PLANCISE: Workforce Management for Logistics
• - STILL: FM-X iGo

The IFOY Award 

The IFOY Award has established itself as an indicator of efficiency and innovation and, due to its technical expertise, is considered one of the most important international innovation prizes in intralogistics. The decision is based on a three-stage audit – consisting of the IFOY test protocol, which comprises around 80 criteria, the scientific IFOY Innovation Check, and the jury test. The IFOY winners are selected annually by an international jury of trade journalists. The IFOY AWARD sponsors are the Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association and the Robotics + Automation Association within the VDMA (German Engineering Federation). Partners are Messe Dortmund and the world's leading forklift attachment manufacturer Cascade. The logistics partner is LTG. The IFOY event partner is the Phoenix des Lumières, the organization's headquarters in Ismaning near Munich. The award is under the patronage of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. 

The application phase for the IFOY Award 2026 starts on August 1, 2025.