Jungheinrich, Still, Liebherr, Wegard and Witron were awarded the 2018 International Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY) Award at ceMAT in Hannover. Jungheinrich walked away with the win in two categories. An overview of the winners and their intralogistics solutions.
This edition, intralogistics solutions were divided into five categories: Warehouse Trucks, Forklifts, Integrated Warehouse Solutions, Cranes & Lifts and Special of the Year.
Warehouse trucks
Jungheinrich and Wegard made IFOY history this year by finishing on top with the same number of points.
Jungheinrich won with the ECE 225 easyPILOT Follow, a warehouse truck that follows the order picker
to the next location. EasyPILOT Follow works with a small remote control that serves as an identification beacon. The box can be carried in the pocket or on a belt and ensures the pairing of driver to order-pick truck. The pairing occurs automatically as soon as the driver steps onto the order picker's platform and switches on the ignition. The jury particularly praised the positioning system and user interface of the semi-automatic truck. Tests by the IFOY panel showed improved picking performance.
Wegard Trail, an autonomous modular vehicle, also scored highly with the 
jury in this category. As a result, the Wegard Trail shares first place with Jungheinrich's ECE 225. The Wegard Trail stands out as the first warehouse train to use fully autonomous electronically controlled axles, equipped with angle detection. This makes central control unnecessary. In addition, driving manoeuvres with tractors such as side parking and reversing become possible. The train can handle tractors weighing up to a thousand kilos.
Forklift trucks
In the forklift truck category, Still went home with the win thanks to the RX 20.
According to the judges, this 'all-rounder' is quiet, manoeuvrable, fast, ergonomic and has no problems with ramps. Tests showed that the truck is easy to operate. The EASY Control display and control unit gives the driver all the information at a glance. The truck can run on lead-acid batteries as well as lithium-ion batteries, with the 931 Ah Li-Ion battery enabling deployment times of almost 14 hours to 18 hours.
Integrated warehouse solutions
Witron won in this category with the customer case of retail group Migros. For this Swiss company, it merged the small-volume order picking of subsidiary Migrolino with that of Migros branches. The completed logistics centre delivers over 300,000 products daily to 600 Migros branches and 118,000 pick units to Migrolino shops at petrol pumps and train stations.
Special of the Year
Jungheinrich 's battery chargers scored in the Special of the Year category. This
high-frequency chargers SLH300 for lead-acid and lithium ion batteries are manufactured in-house by Jungheinrich. The chargers are able to communicate with the battery, ensuring maximum energy levels and battery life.
Cranes and lifting equipment
Liebherr won in the cranes and lifting equipment category with the MK 140 electric mobile
construction crane. This tower crane has a maximum jib length of 65 metres and a maximum lifting height of up to 94 metres. However, the stall is compact. As a result, Liebherr fulfils its pioneering role in terms of efficiency and innovation, the jury said.
