The IFOY Award 2017 in the category "Special Vehicle" goes to the tugger train with automatic loading and unloading from Still GmbH in Hamburg.
The international jury selected the heavy-duty tugger train – purpose-designed to supply components to the production process on the site of an English construction machine manufacturer – as the best new product in the category of special vehicles.
The winner was a well-kept secret up to the last moment. Last Tuesday, the name was revealed at the IFOY Award Night at BMW World in Munich, when Birgit Heitzer, Director corporate logistics at Rewe Group, Cologne, presented the metal and glass trophy to the delighted recipients.
IFOY Award – Special Vehicle of the Year 2017
The key factor in the decision of the jury was the high level of customer benefit in combination with the new market potential. "The tugger train trailer with lateral ejector forks developed by Still as a customised solution is a practicable step towards the full automation of the production process. It extends the range of applications of tugger trains and therefore opens up a new market segment", in the words of the jury. The IFOY Test underlined the self-evident advantages of the heavy-duty tugger train in view of the increasing average age of people employed in logistics, as the physical performance capability of the operator is no longer relevant.
The liftrunner systems implemented by Still consist of a LTX tractor and the lift runner frame as well as trolleys. To allow loading and unloading of a tugger train with oversized load carriers, the C frames were for the first time equipped with two electrically controlled, double-telescopic fork pairs with a load capacity of up to 1,000 kg. In this way, the loading and unloading process of the tugger train was automated. The loading and unloading is remote controlled by the tugger train driver from the tugger. The adjustable forks are controlled on a panel on the tractor with touch screen and allow the driver to operate the tugger train intuitively.
The mini dome camera placed above the frame provides a panoramic view of the frame as well as the loading and unloading areas and transmits the live images to the control panel on the tractor. In addition, the system indicates the next useful action to the driver. If the unloading area is occupied, the driver is only allowed to pick up load carriers, whereas in vacant areas loads must be set down. Additionally installed laser-controlled positioners enable precise positioning of the tractor so that it can place the load carrier exactly in its designated storage space.
The winners of the IFOY Award are selected once a year by an independent jury of leading international trade journalists. A neutral test and a scientific "innovation check" form the basis for assessment by the jury. Both test series compare the finalists with their respective competitors. Since 2013, the IFOY Award has become established as a benchmark for cost efficiency and innovation. Due to the specialised expertise it represents, it is seen as the most important innovation award in intralogistics. The sponsor of the IFOY Award, which enjoys the patronage of the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, is the VDMA Materials Handling and Logistics Systems Sector Association. Partners are Deutsche Messe with the leading international CeMAT trade fair for intralogistics in Hannover and the Munich fair with the transport logistic, bauma and IFAT events. IFOY pallet partner is CHEP, the global market leader in pallet pooling, IFOY technology partner is battery charging specialist Fronius.
