Simply excellent: Crown receives the 2023 IFOY Award for its SP 1500 Series order pickers
Crown has won the 2023 International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY) Award in the "Warehouse Truck Highlifter" category for its new SP 1500 Series high-level order pickers. A world-famous accolade for outstanding performance, the IFOY Award acknowledges the year’s best intralogistics products and system solutions. The order pickers impress with an innovative and ergonomic operator area boasting unprecedented all-round visibility and numerous customisable operating elements that make order picking easier and safer. Industry-leading lift truck performance combined with travel speeds of up to twelve kilometres per hour set this forklift apart from the competition.
According to the jury, the SP 1500 Series order picker sets new standards for efficient order picking. “The SP 1500 Series scores points for performance, efficiency and ergonomics”, explains Anita Würmser, executive chair of the jury. The panel of internationally renowned trade journalists attested to the lift truck's countless innovations in terms of productivity, ease of use and connectivity, as well as the high value it offers customers. The IFOY Innovation Check emphasises the "unique ergonomics with very many configuration options developed from studies directly at customers' premises". It also highlights "the use in different aisle widths, a unique individually adjustable operation as well as the excellent field of vision".
Ken Dufford, Vice President Europe at Crown, is delighted about the fifth IFOY Award for Crown: "This award not only recognises our accomplishments, but serves as an incentive to continue innovating. At Crown we work tirelessly to make true high performance a reality for our customers. We are proud to successfully set milestones as we continue to seek the highest level of work efficiency possible. We are guided by high quality standards with a primary focus on productivity, ergonomics and safety."
Consistent focus on the operator, strong performance
With a reach height of up to 11.2 metres and load capacities of up to 1.25 tonnes, the SP Series order pickers are robust, intelligently connected and designed for a wide range of order picking applications. Ease of use and performance allow operators to reach new heights, both literally and figuratively.
Operators benefit from exceptional, virtually unrestricted all-round visibility – in the driving direction as well as up and down. In addition to the auxiliary mast windows, floorboard openings and panoramic overhead guard, the central window positioned between the controls is a unique feature in the industry, offering an unobstructed view in the direction of the drive unit when the platform is raised. A smart, ergonomic and spacious operator area with optional dual controls in both driving directions delivers first-class operating comfort. The controls can be adjusted down to the last detail to suit the needs and size of each individual operator.
Gena, Crown's cutting-edge operating system, can be seamlessly integrated with the InfoLink fleet management system as an option to ensure consistent operator orientation. The Gena system is intuitive, customisable, interactive and offers a personalised user experience. Customisable widgets display key truck functions in real time, such as operating hours, steering angle and battery charge status, ensuring that this information is easy to view, understand and use.
Furthermore, the SP Series offers superb lifting and travel speeds. Even with a 24-volt battery, these order pickers are capable of travelling at a remarkable speed of 12 km/h. Lifting speeds are also impressive. With the optional High Speed Lift function on the 48-volt model, the maximum lifting speed is an unrivalled 0.71 m/s. These lift trucks also boast regenerative lowering as standard, meaning that energy is fed back to the battery as the mast is lowered, increasing the operating time of the lift truck and sustainably reducing energy consumption.
The newest generation of order pickers in the SP Series exemplifies seamless interaction between the operator and the lift truck. As a result, these forklifts improve the entire picking process and help increase efficiency and productivity.
The IFOY Test Days were held in Dortmund in March 2023. During this time Crown's new high-level order picker underwent a comprehensive three-stage audit and ultimately triumphed over the competition. Apart from innovative strength, other test criteria included economy, energy efficiency, sustainability, safety, ergonomics and customer benefits. The IFOY Award is one of the world’s most prestigious international awards for intralogistics and material handling solutions. Winners are selected by a jury of internationally reputed trade journalists. This is the fifth time that Crown has won the coveted award: Crown’s previous IFOY Award winners include the company’s wireless InfoLink fleet management system (in 2013), its QuickPick Remote order-picking technology (in 2014), the RT 4000 Series of ride-on pallet trucks (in 2016) and the ESR 1000 Series reach trucks (in 2020).
About Crown Equipment Corporation – EMEA
Crown is one of the world’s largest material handling companies with a reputation for award-winning product design, advanced engineering and technology supported by superior after-sales service. Crown’s business philosophy utilises vertically integrated processes to design, manufacture and distribute forward-thinking innovative solutions that improve customers’ productivity and operating efficiency. Crown develops, produces and sells a broad range of forklifts, as well as automation and fleet management technologies.
The company’s global headquarters is located in New Bremen, Ohio, USA, with regional headquarters in Germany, Australia, China and Singapore. Its employees number more than 16,000 worldwide. Crown operates a service and distribution network that exceeds 500 retail locations in over 80 countries. To learn more about Crown’s ideas for helping customers advance the productivity of their operations, visit crown.com.