Nominees Announced for Forklifts “Oscars”

Photo courtesy of Greg Hernandez (via Wikimedia Commons)

The Golden Globes and the Oscars aren’t the only places hardware will be handed out this awards season.

The nominees for the International Forklift Truck of the Year awards — known to industry insiders as the IFOYs — were announced last week during an announcement ceremony in Munich, Germany.

The nominations were chosen by a jury comprised of a cross section of international forklift industry leaders. The competition is co-sponsored by CeMAT, the global trade industrial vehicle trade show, and Hellman Worldwide Logistics, a German logistics firm.

Rigorous Testing Process

Forklifts that are nominated for an IFOY must undergo a week-long testing and innovation check process at Hellman’s world headquarters in Osnabureck, Germany, according to a news release.

“The IFOY test measures the hard data and compares it with the data for rival machines,” award organizers stated in the news release. “The IFOY Innovation Check prepared by the specialists from the Dortmund-based Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) focuses on innovations and the degree of innovation relative to the market. In addition, the jury members drive all nominated vehicles themselves,putting them through their paces during the IFOY test week.”

May 5 is the ‘Big Night’

The winners will selected in March but the results will be kept secret until they are announced during a star-studded ceremony to be held May 5 during a red carpet event at the BMW Museum in Munich as part of the CeMAT logistics trade fair.

The nominated forklifts will be assessed for their innovative quality, technology, design, ergonomics, handling, safety, cost effectiveness and sustainability. IFOYs also are awarded for intralogistics solutions based on novel or innovative quality, benefit to the customer, sustainability and marketability of the solution.

‘The Envelope, Please …’

Three forklifts were nominated for the category of Best Counter Balanced Truck (up to 3.5 tons). The nominees are:

• The Jungheinrich EFT S30S, which has a capacity of three tons.
• The Still RX20 Electric Forklift, which can lift 1.6 tons
• The Tonero HST LPG fro Toyota, which has a capacity of 2.5 to 3.5 tons

In the category of Best Counter Balanced Truck (over 3.5 tons), the nominees are:

• Jungheinrich’s DFG 540S, a diesel forklift with a lifting capacity of four tons
• Still’s RX60-80, an electric forklift that can life 8 tons
• Toyota’s Traigo 80 electric forklift
• Toyota’s Tonero diesel forklift

In the category of Best Warehouse Truck, the nominees are:

• Clark Europe’s CBX4 in-plant carrier truck
• Toyota’s BT Levio liquid propane forklift
• Jungheinrich’s ECE 225 horizontal order picker
• Still’s FM-X reach truck
• Unicarrier’s Tergo URS narrow aisle and reach truck

In the category of Best System Solution, the nominees are:

• Still, for its intralogistics system installed at the raw materials warehouse of Kuraray Europe GmbH.
• Jungheinrich, for its tugger train solution it installed at VEMAG Maschinenbau GmbH

Good luck to all the nominees!