IFOY finalists put to the test

• Jury members from 18 nations evaluate the nominated trucks and solutions from BYD, Jungheinrich, Liebherr, Still, Gebr. Schulte, Wegard and Witron.

• More than 100 guests follow the world's largest intralogistics test live on the fairgrounds of IFOY partner CeMAT.

At the beginning of February, 12 IFOY-nominated devices, components and solutions from the manufacturers BYD, Jungheinrich, Liebherr, Still, Gebr. Schulte, Wegard and Witron were subjected to the world's biggest intralogistics test at the IFOY Test Days in Hall 13 of the Hanover Trade Fair.

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"Promises must be demonstrated at the IFOY. The tests reveal the truth and make it clear to the jury how innovative and practical a candidate is in comparison to its direct competitors on the market," says Anita Würmser, chairperson of the IFOY jury.

Over the course of one week, the testers lifted, drove, measured, stored and discussed in the jury sessions. More than 100 guests from 18 nations, including various test teams as well as more than 30 jurors and accredited consultants from industry, logistics services, media and science travelled to Hanover to follow the tests live.

The kick-off was given by the presentations in the category "Integrated Warehouse Solutions", to which IFOY partner CeMAT invited the jury into the Hermes Lounge of the trade fair tower. Jungheinrich showed its live central warehouse expansion at the C-parts` specialist Keller & Kalmbach. The Witron team entered the race with an omnichannel solution for the Swiss Migros Group.

The jurors and their advisory teams also drove the 5-ton ECB50C electric counterbalance truck from BYD and the newly introduced Still RX 20 electric forklift truck with a load capacity of 1.6 tons. The test list also included the high-performance EZS 7280 tractor and the ECE 225 order picker with easyPILOT Follow from Jungheinrich as well as the flagship of the OPX order picking series from Still, the OPX-L 16, and the modular tugger train from Hamburg-based start-up Wegard.

In addition to the functional tests of the cross-technology battery charging system SLH 300 from Jungheinrich and the car-like EASY Drive steering wheel from Still, the MULTIplus shelves from Schulte Lagertechnik, which were specially developed for e-commerce warehouses, were put to the test. Liebherr's MK 140 electric mobile crane presented itself as one of the highlights among the testers.

The IFOY audit lasts one week and includes various test series. The devices and solutions are subjected to individually tailored driving or function tests, including the IFOY test protocol comprising around 80 criteria and the scientific IFOY Innovation Check. In addition, jurors and their advisory teams assess the finalists themselves before casting their votes. It is crucial that the nominees are not compared with each other, yet with their competing devices on the market.

Who will win the race, however, remains a secret up to the end. Even the manufacturers will not be inaugurated before the award ceremony at the opening day of CeMAT and the Hannover Fair.