TMHE has received four nominations for the 2014 International Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY) Awards, which will be announced at the forthcoming CeMAT event in Hannover. There are just eleven nominations in total for the contest, which means that Toyota is a very strong contender, reflecting the fact that Toyota has maintained the dynamic pace of new product development in the industry, as the awards are specifically for products launched since December 2012.

The IFOY awards are particularly significant, having been established by the industry with the VDMA Materials Handling and Logistics Systems Sector Association, and because the awards are decided by a jury of leading journalists from across Europe, specialising in the material handling and intralogistics sector.

TMHE has been nominated in three categories. In the category ‘counterbalance trucks up to 3.5 tonnes’, Toyota has two trucks nominated. The first is the new Toyota Tonero HST, which has been developed in Europe, specifically for the European market and offers hydrostatic control, which gives an alternative driving approach compared to the existing torque convertor control on Tonero models. By offering both drive systems, TMHE can offer the widest choice of options to customers.

The second finalist in this category is the new Toyota Traigo 80v electric counterbalance truck range. The combination of exceptional energy efficiency with heavy-duty batteries means these electric trucks can compete with IC-trucks when it comes to working extensive shift patterns, allowing customers to switch to the benefits of electric operation.
In the warehouse truck category, TMHE has been nominated for the BT Optio OSE200X low-level order picker. The scissor-lift design gives high capacity at an ergonomic pick height, further aided by automatic height adjustment and remote control.

The final category where TMHE has been nominated is the ‘Intralogistics Solutions 2014’ award. In this category Toyota has been selected for the implementation of the Toyota I_Site system at the Carreras Group. The system uses on-board truck telemetry, uniquely transmitted by GPRS/3G communication to a web-portal, allowing management to control driver access to trucks, monitor and measure activity, including the introduction of driver recognition and incentive schemes. As a result productivity has been boosted by 10% and operating costs reduced by 60%.

The final decisions for the awards will depend to large measure on the results of the IFOY Test, which all nominated trucks have to undergo over a period of one week on the trade fair grounds of Deutsche Messe AG in Hannover. The awards will be presented on 19th May 2014.