Two Yale Forklifts Recognized by Chicago Design Museum

Two Yale forklifts have been honored with the “Good Design” award from The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design.

Yale’s MPR100VG enclosed end rider and its ESC030AD three-wheel standing forklift both were selected for the prestigious design award due to their state-of-the-art technology, enhanced ergonomic design, and class-leading lifting capacity.

The museum’s annual awards recognize the best industrial designers and global manufacturers for their pursuit of extraordinary design excellence, according to the news release announcing this year’s awards.

Crown Rider Pallet Truck Honored

Meanwhile, Crown received the iF Design Award for its new RT 4000 Series rider pallet truck. The awards, which are presented by the iF International Forum Design, recognizes outstanding design achievement.

The rider pallet series, which was introduced into the European market at the end of last year, has a load capacity of 2,000 kilograms, innovative safety features, and superior agility, responsiveness. It comes in both stand-up and sit-down models that can be used for fast-paced dock work.

The vehicles offer outstanding transportation performance and maneuverability even in confined spaces, as well as a level of ride comfort that allows operators to stay more productive longer into their work day, according Jim Kramer, Crown’s director of industry design.

“The RT400 Series represents a design concept that puts operators at the heart of the development process,” Kramer said in a Crown news release announcing the award. “The result is a high-performance product that helps cutting costs by improving productivity and safety in the warehouse.”

Foot Protection

The stand-up version features a suspended footboard plus a wraparound, soft-foam lean pad and can be configured for both right- and left-handed steering. The forklift reduces the risk of injury to operators’ feet by deactivating travel as soon as the driver place a foot outside the vehicle’s perimeter.

The sit-down version is specifically designed to excel in long-distance, high-throughput applications and is fitted with a full suspended driver’s seat and heat-adjustable footboard. The elevated position allows operators to have improved all-around field of vision.

Toyota Hand Truck Design

Toyota also was honored as the iF Universal Design expert favorite for its BT Lifter L-series hand pallet truck. The BT Lifter was originally designed by Swedish industrial designer Rune Mono in 1967, but over the years the iconic design has become the standard shape of most pallet trucks used today, according to the Toyota news release announcing the award.

The expert favorites were awarded by the Universal Design expert jury and the awards were presented during Munich Creative Business Week last month. In presenting the awards, the jury took a number of criteria into account, including:

• A broad, flexible, simple and intuitive use
• Error tolerance and safety
• Marketability and market potential
• Feasibility and innovation
• Sustainability and environmental compatibility

All entries were tested and examined by the jury during the event, which took place in the Oskar von Miller forum, where the entries were on display to the public.