Representatives from a total of twelve companies accepted the certificates in Hall 3. Cargotec Engineering, Jungheinrich, Locus Robotics, Magment, NAiSE, Noyes Technologies, robominds, SICK, SSI Schäfer, STILL, stow robotics and Synaos were awarded the seal.

The certificates were presented this year by Steffen Bersch, the new Chairman of the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association. The "Best in Intralogistics" seal was introduced four years ago and serves to visibly document the degree of innovation of the devices and solutions nominated for an IFOY AWARD that pass the IFOY test.

"Once again in 2022, only innovations that carry this certificate have successfully passed the three-part IFOY Audit and have therefore passed our tough, independent intralogistics test," emphasizes Anita Würmser, Managing Chairwoman of the jury. The IFOY Audit 2022, which took place for the second time this year at the Dortmund Exhibition Center, lasts a total of six days. It comprises various series of tests, the results of which are used by the 25 jury members - logistics journalists from all over the world - to help them decide on the winners.

At the IFOY Award, the nominees in a category are never compared with each other, but always with comparable devices currently on the market. This ensures that the performance values and the innovation gap can be assessed objectively. The first part of the IFOY audit is the scientific IFOY Innovation Check, which is carried out by the Dortmund Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML), the Chair of Technical Logistics at the University of Dresden, the Chair of Materials Handling Material Flow Logistics at the Technical University of Munich and the Stuttgart-based Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA. The experts assess the finalists in terms of market relevance, customer benefit, type of implementation and degree of innovation.

In addition, the scientists verify the innovations specified by the manufacturers in the test hall and evaluate in a comprehensive technology comparison whether they are innovative further developments, new compositions or genuine innovations. The second part of the IFOY audit is the practice-oriented IFOY test by Dutch trade journalist Theo Egberts. He measures the facts and compares them with the relevant competitor devices. The appliances undergo coordinated driving or functional tests, including the IFOY test protocol comprising around 80 criteria, which determines the economy and energy efficiency, sustainability, safety and ergonomics of the appliances, among other things. The third part of the audit is the assessment of the finalists by the jury members and their approved advisors. The jury members form an opinion based on the IFOY Innovation Check, the IFOY test results and their own test experience and then vote.

Who will win in 2022 will remain a secret for a few more weeks. It will only be revealed during the IFOY Award ceremony, which will take place in Munich on June 30, 2022.