Toyota Material Handling Europe (TMHE) has announced that the BT Optio L-series has received the iF product design award 2012. For 58 years, the iF product design award has been an internationally recognised label for award-winning design and the iF brand has become a symbol for outstanding achievements in design.

The BT Optio L-series, the new series of low-level order picking trucks from TMHE, was entered in the category Special Vehicles/construction/agriculture, and was selected for an iF product design award from 2,923 entries. Evaluation criteria included aspects such as design quality, finish, choice of materials, degree of innovation, environmental impact, safety, functionality and ergonomics. The BT Optio L-series forklift truck range was developed for the material handling industry around a Smooth Operator concept designed to provide the best working conditions for maximum productivity whilst maintaining excellent ergonomics, and therefore minimum stress for the forklift operator.

"We, at Toyota Material Handling Europe, have always maintained a clear focus on innovation. We are working very closely with our customers as we bring to market new products and solutions" says Jonas Tornerefelt, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Strategic Planning, TMHE. "Thanks to the feedback from customers, we can make continuous improvements to our products to meet their stringent demands, which extend from high performance to low overall cost, as well as the critical need for minimum environmental impact and maximum social responsibility."

This is not the first time that a new product from TMHE has been recognised - in 2009 both the BT Levio powered pallet truck and the Toyota Traigo 48 electric counterbalanced forklift truck ranges were awarded the iF product design award. TMHE's Product Design Center - lead by Magnus Oliveira Andersson - has the aim of developing purposeful and innovative design solutions that embody functional and aesthetic demands, based on the needs of the intended user.