Crown has earned the GOOD DESIGN Award for its ESR 1000 Series reach trucks. The jury was particularly impressed by Crown’s technological innovations, including the newly developed Gena operating system and Xpress Lower mast lowering function.

The award was presented by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. Earlier, in 2020, the ESR 1000 Series also won the International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY) Award in recognition of its many innovations relating to productivity, connectivity and operator safety.

Transport and logistical services provider Voigt Logistik has been using the reach truck for some time, and has been impressed by the forklift’s capabilities: “Crown’s recently launched ESR 1000 Series is a reach truck that our operators really appreciate for its many innovative features, such as Auto Height Select, Capacity Data Monitor and the new, intuitive Gena operator experience,” reports Jan-Peter Wingert, Site Manager at Voigt Logistik in Neumünster, Germany.

Jim Kraimer, Director Industrial Design at Crown, is delighted: “This latest accolade is Crown’s seventeenth Good Design Award. It’s made us all proud and confirmed yet again that by focusing on customer-centric development processes, we’re definitely on the right track.”

The Good Design Award was inaugurated in Chicago in 1950 and is regarded as one of the oldest and most prestigious prizes awarded for design excellence anywhere in the world. To date, Crown has garnered more than 100 awards from internationally acclaimed design institutions and associations.

The ESR 1000 Series offers innovative technology paired with new, intelligently connected features in the Gena operating system that enable operators to work with skill and precision at any height and with increased productivity and efficiency.

One major innovation is Crown’s optional Xpress Lower technology, which is capable of doubling the truck’s mast-lowering speed to 1.1 m/s. Unique in the marketplace, this performance can increase overall productivity by up to 21%. Far from consuming extra energy, the mast-lowering function feeds the energy released during the lowering process back into the battery. In combination with the ESR 1000’s regenerative braking system, this can result in energy savings of up to 11%.

Operators, service technicians and warehouse managers all benefit from the Gena operating system, newly developed by Crown and making its debut in the ESR 1000 Series. The Gena system is intuitive, customisable and interactive, offering a new and engaging operator experience. It delivers all vital data and information clearly and concisely on a 7-inch colour touchscreen, which also allows operators to choose from 25 languages. The system’s user-friendly widgets show key forklift functions and can be configured according to operators’ individual preferences, helping them boost their throughput. Intuitive assistance systems such as Auto Height Select and Capacity Data Monitor further enhance the truck’s productivity.

Full cellular and WiFi connectivity, plus the interaction between Gena and the integrated InfoLink fleet management system, turn the truck into a reliable, connected, safe partner for operators. The touchscreen displays user-friendly safety checklists which operators must complete when they first log on, as well as periodic safety messages, all helping to raise operators’ safety awareness. Dynamic Coaching, Crown’s innovative, contextual guidance system, acts as a virtual coach that assists operators while they work, praising them for doing things right and highlighting errors as they happen.

Crown Equipment Corporation designs, manufactures, distributes, services and supports material handling products that provide customers with superior value. Since its entry into the material handling equipment industry in 1956, Crown has distinguished itself from competitors with exceptional product designs and a unique business approach based on vertical integration. When it says Crown on the outside, it's a Crown on the inside. Crown designs and manufactures 85 percent of its lift truck components, including key parts like motors, drive units, and electronic modules.

From our smallest hand pallet truck to our highest lifting turret truck, our goal is to always provide the user with the safest, most efficient and ergonomic lift truck possible to lower total cost of ownership and increase uptime. A strong and extensive global dealer network provides a wide variety of quality material handling equipment, storage solutions and support services. Our dedicated team of professionals will always put you first.