IFOY AWARD 2013
The Winners are ...

The names of the winners of the first International Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY) Award were kept secret right up to the end. Then last Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., the 2013 results were revealed at the IFOY Award Night in Hall B1 of the CeMAT@transport logistic in Munich, where the delighted winners were presented with their metal and glass trophies. 

The award in the top truck category of counter balanced trucks up to 3.5 tons went to the RX 70 Hybrid from Still GmbH. In the opinion of the jury, this first diesel forklift with energy recovery system and electrical power transmission not only achieved unmatched low energy consumption during the IFOY test but also laid down a benchmark for the development of these trucks, taking the balance of ecology and economy into a new era.

The Hamburg-based Jungheinrich AG company scooped two awards. Its DFG/TFG 540 s diesel/gas machine with hydrostatic drive and a load capacity of 5 tons reigned supreme in the category of counter balanced trucks from 3.5 tons. Where extremely high loading performance is needed, during reversing for the loading and unloading of haulage trucks for example, the strengths of the hydrostatic drive – dynamic acceleration, fast reversing and precision steering – come fully into play. And it was ultimately these benefits that swayed the jury.

Jungheinrich's ETV/ETM 214/216 reach truck won the Warehouse Truck category in what was an exciting "photo-finish". In stating the reasons for its decision, the jury said that the highly reliable order-picking truck combines energy efficiency with excellent handling, great driving performance and a range of ergonomic features.

In the Forklift Truck Solutions category for intralogistics solutions, Crown Gabelstapler GmbH & Co. KG made a highly persuasive case with its InfoLink fleet management solution. Thanks to a totally new and far more efficient forklift fleet less than half the size of the previous one combined with the "InfoLink" fleet management system, the materials handling specialist succeeded in cutting maintenance and repair costs at UK office supplies wholesaler Spicers by 90 percent at the end of 2012 - an outcome that also impressed the international jury with members from eight countries.