Tag: awards|forklift technology|materials handling

In voting for “Product of the Year”, readers of German trade publication materialfluss have twice opted for products or logistics concepts from the Hamburg-based intralogistics expert STILL.

It was the third time that materialfluss called on its readers to vote for the Product of the Year. The search was on for products and projects that either have a special technical feature, whose market success in 2021 speaks in favour of an award or whose product has a special influence on the industry. Entries were accepted in a total of 14 categories.

STILL GmbH came out on top in the ‘Warehousing and Order Picking Technology’ category as well as ‘Logistics, Logistics Real Estate and Transport’ category, and is one of the top three in these categories, all of which are deemed winners according to the competition’s statutes.

The STILL OPX iGo neo

In the warehouse and order-picking technology category, STILL entered the OPX iGo neo autonomous order picker (pictured) with its new intelligent assistance systems such as Easy Protect, which virtually guarantees efficiency and safety.

The STILL OPX iGo neo follows its operator every step of the way and, in autonomous mode, adapts its travel path, speed and stopping positions to the task at hand and its environment. It also brakes automatically at cross aisles and reacts situationally to obstacles and people.

The OPX iGo neo is the first order picker to be equipped with a comprehensive pedestrian protection system (PPE) with safety laser scanners.

Reorganisation at Siemens

A manufacturer-independent intralogistics concept developed by STILL Intralogistics Consulting for Siemens is the second nomination with which the Hamburg-based company took part in the materialfluss reader survey in the logistics, warehouse real estate and transport category and was awarded a prize.

With this concept, the picking performance at Siemens WKC (Chemnitz plant for combination technology) was increased by 150%. To achieve this, an intralogistics area that could not be expanded was modified in the course of the project to accommodate the goods previously stored in another warehouse as well as the picking activities. The challenge was to increase the pallet capacity by 40%, the capacity for small load carriers by 240% and, at the same time, the picking performance by 110%, while maintaining the same floor space.

Another goal of the reorganisation was to install a logistics system on the existing floor space that was tailored to the customers’ needs and at the same time more efficient. To ensure efficient use of space, the STILL experts opted for a high-bay pallet warehouse combined with an AutoStore system.

After joint planning by STILL Consulting and Siemens WKC, the STILL and Dematic sales teams took over. STILL supplied the platform and racking system, while Dematic focused on installing the AutoStore system and the conveyor technology.

The two awards were presented virtually to Frank Müller, Senior Vice President Sales & Service Steering STILL EMEA, on 16th March. “I am delighted to receive these awards. After all, they are awarded by a particularly critical jury – namely the readers of the trade magazine materialfluss,” Müller emphasised in the run-up to the award ceremony.

“I am particularly pleased, however, that the continuing high level of innovation of our STILL employees has been recognised in this way. The readers’ vote shows us very clearly that we are on the right track with our development work and our independent consultancy services. I would like to sincerely thank the readers of materialfluss for this confirmation.”

 

Combilift has been recognised as the overall winner of the Energia Family Business of the Year 2021.

Energia, the largest supplier of 100% Green Energy in Ireland, recently hosted its bi-annual awards ceremony virtually, with 19 awards being presented to Irish family businesses. The awards celebrate generations of families who work together and this year’s ceremony focussed on honouring businesses who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and resilience throughout the Covid-19 pandemic while continuing to thrive and grow.

Around 200 family business entries were submitted for consideration by the judging panel. Criteria for success was a business which has drawn on its family values to build a successful company, one which acts as a great ambassador for the sector and makes a significant contribution to society and the wider economy.

Combilift was nominated for two categories, Innovative Family Business Award and Manufacturing & Engineering Family Business of the Year. As the company claimed gold in both of these, it was  therefore eligible for the top award, the Energia Family Business of the Year 2021.

Combilift’s CEO and co-founder Martin McVicar commented: “Combilift are thrilled to receive both category awards and of course the overall Family Business award. We’d like to thank the sponsors of our awards, Energia and also NSIA, and the jury for recognising our company and its achievements with these prestigious accolades. This means so much to our team here in Combilift and their families, we are all very proud, and will celebrate accordingly!”

 

The application period for the IFOY AWARD 2022 is entering the finishing phase. Suppliers of products and solutions can apply only this week. The application portal at www.ifoy.org is open until 30th October, 2021. In addition to forklifts, warehouse technology and special vehicles, automated guided vehicle (AGVs), shuttles, robots, cargo bikes, drones, cranes, software and apps as well as successfully implemented, integrated warehouse solutions are also eligible for application.

Furthermore, outstanding technical details or components, such as ergonomic innovations, safety solutions or automation components, are also awarded. In the “Start-up of the Year” category, newly-founded companies with innovative prototypes or functional developments can apply for an IFOY AWARD.

Due to its expertise, the IFOY AWARD is considered the most important innovation award in intralogistics. The election by an international jury selected from internationally renowned trade journalists and the leading logistics media – including Logistics Business as the sole UK media representative – is preceded by an extensive audit with nomination and test cycles. The equipment and solutions nominated for the final undergo individually tailored driving or functional tests, including the test protocol comprising around 80 criteria and the scientific IFOY Innovation Check, on the occasion of the IFOY TEST DAYS from 18th – 23rd March, 2022 at the Messe Dortmund exhibition centre.

In addition, jurors and their teams of advisors from the business world will travel to examine the finalists themselves before casting their vote. As part of IFOY TEST DAYS, TEST CAMP Intralogistics will be held again in 2022, admitting B2B trade visitors interested in innovation. The number of participants is limited.

Applications can only be submitted online HERE.

Representatives of arculus, Cargotec, idealworks, Interroll Group, STILL and VOLUME Lagersysteme received their IFOY Awards – dubbed the “Oscar of intralogistics” – at an awards ceremony at the German Football Museum in Dortmund.

The honours were given out by laudators Thomas Westphal (Lord Mayor of Dortmund), Gordon Riske (Chairman of the Board of the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Sector Association and CEO of KION Group), Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Michael ten Hompel (Executive Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML in Dortmund), Sabine Loos (Managing Director of the Westfalenhallen Group), Jan-Dietrich Hempel (Managing Director of GARBE Industrial Real Estate) and Birgit Heitzer (Director Corporate Logistics at REWE Group).

IFOY 2021 AWARD WINNERS

• Moffett E4-25.3NX, Cargotec
• iw.hub, idealworks
• Smart Pallet Mover (SPM), Interroll Group
• arculus Fleet, arculus
• Danfoss Project, STILL
• Volume WAVE, VOLUME Storage Systems

 

The IFOY Award is the most important intralogistics award in the world. In 2021, 14 international companies entered 17 products and solutions in the ninth round of the award. “The winners of the IFOY Award 2021 have once again demonstrated that businesses can be innovative and forward-thinking even in persistent pandemic times and bring top products to the market that have a significant effect on the future of intralogistics,” emphasises jury chairwoman Anita Würmser.

Forklift specialist Cargotec won its first IFOY Award in the “Special Vehicle” category with the second generation of its Moffett E4-25.3NX, the world’s first fully electric truck-mounted forklift. According to the jury, the emission-free and low-noise truck is unique in its class. It has a three-wheel drive as well as numerous safety features and convinced the jury in the IFOY test, for example, with its economic efficiency and high performance.

The winner in the “Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV)” category is the BMW subsidiary idealworks with the iw.hub. Originally developed for in-house use, the autonomous mobile robot (AMR) is now freely available on the market and can be implemented very easily in just two days without any structural adjustments. The AMR, which set an example at the IFOY Test Days with its flexibility and other features, also scored points with its competitive price.

In the “Special of the Year” category, the IFOY Award got to the Smart Pallet Mover (SPM) from the Swiss Interroll Group. The new, mobile robot solution for the automation of pallet transport in the areas of production machines and order picking convinced testers and the jury not only with its high degree of innovation, but also with an outstanding cost-benefit advantage.

An IFOY Award was also won by arculus. In the category “Intralogistics Software”, the manufacturer-independent fleet management system arculus Fleet convinced the jury. The system enables the operation of AGVs from different manufacturers in one area via a VDA5050 interface and opens up new possibilities for the mixed operation of automated warehouse vehicles, which were unthinkable in practice until not long ago.

In the “Integrated Warehouse Solutions” category, this year’s award went to STILL. The Hamburg-based intralogistics company made it to the top with its Danfoss project. For Danfoss Power Electronics’ new production warehouse, STILL had implemented a perfectly coordinated solution consisting of three automated series industrial trucks, the smart iGo insights tool and the ELOshield safety system for its Danish customer. According to the jury, the project is an impressive example how automated warehouses will be controlled, monitored and analysed in the future.

No fewer than five young companies qualified for the final round in the “Start-up of the Year” category this year with very different innovative solutions. In the end, Volume WAVE from VOLUME Lagersysteme came out on top. The world’s first fully automated pallet shuttle warehouse with individual access to each storage location convinced the jury with its fundamentally new design principle as well as its professional implementation. Scientists described the extremely space-saving solution in the IFOY Innovation Check as “impressive”.

The International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY) Award recognises the best intralogistics products and solutions of the year. It has established itself as an indicator of cost-effectiveness and innovation and is regarded as the leading innovation award in intralogistics due to its technical expertise. The basis for the decision is the three-stage audit – consisting of the IFOY test protocol with around 80 criteria, the scientific IFOY Innovation Check and the jury test. The most important detail is that the nominees are not compared with each other, but with their competitors’ products on the market.

At the IFOY Test Days in March at the Messe Dortmund exhibition centre, all nominees went through the IFOY test series. For the second year in a row, around 100 potential buyers were also on-site at the Test Camp Intralogistics. The winners of the IFOY Award are chosen annually by an international jury of trade journalists.

The IFOY Award is sponsored by the Association for Materials Handling and Intralogistics within the VDMA. IFOY partners are Messe Dortmund and the world’s leading forklift attachment manufacturer Cascade. The IFOY Awards’s pallet partner is CHEP, the global market leader in the pooling of pallets and containers. The logistics real estate partner is GARBE, the trailer partner is Kögel and the logistics partner is LTG.

The application phase for the IFOY Award 2022 starts on 1st August, 2021.