IFOY AWARD 2016: Jungheinrich wins „Special Vehicle“ category

• International jury of trade journalists chooses the Jungheinrich EJQ 325 for changing the ICE wheel sets as the winner in the category "Special Vehicle".

• Colourful IFOY Award ceremony for the "Intralogistics Oscar" during the CeMAT in Hannover.

• Wilfried Neuhaus-Galladé, Chairman VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association Board, presents the prestigious IFOY trophy.

The IFOY Award 2015 in the category "Special Vehicle" goes to the EJQ from Jungheinrich AG in Hamburg. The EJQ was developed for the Deutsche Bahn rail company to permit the loading and separation of the wheel sets for the ICE trains and the wheel set changer.

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The name of the winner was a well-kept secret up to the last moment. Last Tuesday evening its identity was revealed at the CeMAT opening in Hannover, when Wilfried Neuhaus-Galladé, Chairman VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association Board, presented the metal and glass trophy to the delighted winners.

"Jungheinrich's special-purpose vehicle developers have succeeded in building a machine that meets the customer requirement of absolute precision. What characterises this truck is that the use of proven standard components creates a "whole" that is more than the sum of its parts", said the jury.

The IFOY Innovation Check also classifies the degree of innovation as extremely high, as this kind of combination of multiple vehicles, each with its own powertrain, steering and brakes, is highly sophisticated in technical terms and has previously not been realised in this way in the field of materials handling equipment. One true USP is the option of operating the truck from positions on two opposite sides.

The solution is made up of standard components that are chiefly produced in-house by Jungheinrich. The 2.8-kW drive motors are already used in the "Junior" segment, for example, and the tiller is fitted to existing electric lift trucks. The main challenge is presented by longitudinal and transverse travel. The aisle width in which the wheel sets with a length of 2.4 metres are handled is only 2.9 metres wide, and there are also various obstacles in the aisle.

The EJQ 325 can be precision-manoeuvred in four different drive modes: straight ahead, transverse, circle and light diagonal. The modes are selected and shown via a display on the control unit. There are two buttons on the tiller (one for left-hand and one for right-hand operation) for exact positioning on the final millimetres during transverse travel. As soon as the keys are pressed, only one of the two drive units is active.

Finally, two synchronously operating hydraulic motors lift the wheel sets with a maximum weight of 2.5 tonnes and a load centre of 1,000 mm up to the desired lifting height (max. 550 mm). To ensure safe and precise positioning, the truck is also fitted with a side slider with a range of up to 700 mm and an integrated fork spreader.

Since 2013, the IFOY Award has become established as a benchmark for cost efficiency and innovation. Due to the specialised expertise it represents, it is seen as the most important innovation award in intralogistics.

The winners are selected once a year by an independent jury of leading international trade journalists. A neutral test and a scientific "Innovation Check" form the basis for assessment by the jury. Both test series compare the finalists with their respective competitors. The sponsor of the IFOY Award, presented under the patronage of the German Ministry of Economics and Energy, is the VDMA Materials Handling and Logistics Systems Sector Association. Official IFOY partner is CeMAT, the leading international trade fair for intralogistics in Hannover. IFOY pallet partner is Chep, the global market leader in pallet pooling. IFOY technology partner is the battery charging specialist Fronius.