A wide range of MHE vehicles compete for victory every year in the five categories of the IFOY AWARD. All trucks may enter for the award and all types are represented - from counter balanced trucks, order pickers, special-purpose machines or reach trucks through to automated guided vehicles. The competition covers not only all types of drive concept but also all weight classes. A direct comparison of the various trucks would seem to be impossible, and therefore no such comparison takes place. The IFOY AWARD does not compare the nominated trucks with each other but always with comparable vehicles that are available on the market. For this purpose, the jury members can draw on two key instruments to help them make the right decisions: the IFOY test and, since 2014, the IFOY Innovation Check. The IFOY test measures the hard data and compares it with the data for rival machines. The IFOY Innovation Check focuses solely on innovations and the degree of innovation relative to the market. In addition, the jury members drive all nominated vehicles themselves, putting them through their paces during the IFOY test week.

The IFOY Test
The IFOY test is based on the Andersom Test developed by Dutch trade journalist Theo Egberts. Since 1988, over 350 different forklift and warehouse trucks have undergone the Andersom Test. This has led to the creation of the biggest comparison database of independent test data anywhere in Europe and is considered the benchmark for the sector. This comparison database combined with the independent test enables the jury to compare entered trucks with their rival products, laying the foundation for a truly objective verdict. In other words, the IFOY test does not compare the various entered trucks with each other but compares the test data for each truck with the data of comparable trucks on the market.

All nominated trucks undergo the test protocol over the course of a week in a purpose-designed testing hall on the grounds of IFOY logistics partner Hellmann Worldwide Logistics in Osnabrück. The IFOY test focuses on the practical use of forklift trucks. The test parameters include cost effectiveness and energy efficiency, sustainability, safety, ergonomics and design.

In order to avoid falsification of the test results due to external factors such as illumination, weather conditions, aisle widths etc. and therefore ensure comparability of data, the test hall creates identical ambient conditions for all entrants. Following the testing week, all trucks must undergo testing by the jury members.

The IFOY Innovation Check
For the jury, innovative character is one of the key assessment criteria for the IFOY AWARD. In order to address this question from a technological perspective, it is necessary to compare the technology used in the various trucks with the market standards. For the purpose of this IFOY Innovation Check, scientists from the renowned Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) in Dortmund assess all the nominated trucks. The Fraunhofer IML is one of the top names in logistics research, and the expertise of the institute is always in great demand for the development of new technologies for intralogistics.

The IFOY Innovation Check is only performed in the Counter Balanced Truck, Warehouse Truck und Automated Guided Vehicle categories and focuses on assessment of the innovative character of the equipment in question. Alongside the result of the IFOY test, the hard data provided by the Innovation Check forms the basis for the decision by the jury.
For the IFOY Innovation Check, the written documentation submitted by entrants for the IFOY AWARD is analysed, and the outlined functions and features compared to the state of the art in the field. The innovations highlighted by the manufacturers of the trucks in their documentation and presentations are then examined on-site based on visual inspections functional checks during the test week in order to verify the claimed functionality. The assessment process pinpoints and evaluates innovative further developments and successful new equipment combinations as well as genuine innovations.

IFOY AWARD  WWW.IFOY.ORG
The International Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY AWARD) recognises the year's best materials handling equipment and intralogistics solutions. The aim of the non-profit organisation is to document the performance capability and innovative drive of the materials handling and intralogistics sector, helping to boost competitiveness and raise the profile of the entire intralogistics sector in the public arena. The winners of the IFOY Award are selected once a year by an independent jury of international trade journalists. A neutral test and an innovation Check by the Fraunhofer IML forms the basis for assessment by the jury. The sponsor of the IFOY Award is the VDMA Materials Handling and Logistics Systems Sector Association. The “official logistics provider“ is Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, presentation partner is the leading international CeMAT trade fair for intralogistics in Hannover. The patron of the IFOY Award is the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

Members of the jury: Martin Althoff, Editor-in-Chief of Logistiek Totaal (Netherlands), Vladimir Antonov, Editor-in-Chief of Sklad i Technika (Warehouse & Equipment), (Russia), Snejina Badjeva, Editor-in-Chief of LOGISTIKA magazine (Bulgaria), Theo Egberts, IFOY tester and owner of Buro Andersom/Andersom Testing (Netherlands, without voting rights), Werner Götz, Editor-in-Chief of Beschaffung aktuell (Germany), Günther Hörbst, Editor-in-Chief of Deutsche Logistik-Zeitung (DVZ) (Germany), Thilo Jörgl, Editor-in-Chief of LOGISTIK HEUTE (Germany), Anders Karlsson, Editor-in-Chief of Transport & Logistik iDag (Sweden), Glenn Lund, Editor-in-Chief of Moderne Transport (Norway), Peter MacLeod, Editor-in-Chief of SHD Magazine (England), Bernd Maienschein, Editor-in-Chief of MM Logistik (Germany), Marilena Matei, Editorial Manager of Tranzit and Tranzit Logistica (Romania), Anton Mizunov, Editor-in-Chief of Skladskoj Komplex (Logistics and Transport)(Russia), Maurizio Peruzzi, Editor-in-Chief of Il Giornale della Logistica (Italy), Isabel Rodrigo, Editor-in-Chief of Logística Profesional (Spain), Hans-Joachim Schlobach, Publisher-Editor and Editor-in-Chief of BUSINESS+LOGISTIC (Austria), Sascha Schmel, Managing Director of the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Sector Association (without voting rights), Sebastian Śliwieński, Editor-in-Chief of Warehouse Monitor (Poland), Heres Stad, Editor-in-Chief of Logistiek (Netherlands), Jarlath Sweeney, Editor-in-Chief of Fleet Transport (Irland), Mats Udikas, Editor-in-Chief of Transportnytt (Schweden). Executive Jury Chairperson is Anita Würmser, logistics journalist and Managing Director of wuermser.communications. The headquarters of the IFOY Organisation are in Munich.