TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS in Dortmund Successfully Concluded

51 innovations, around 950 participants over six days, daily highlight tours, and a high-profile congress program with panel discussions: The IFOY TEST DAYS and the TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS successfully concluded on Wednesday evening in Dortmund. 14 products and solutions from twelve companies nominated for the International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year Award (IFOY AWARD) underwent a multi-stage evaluation over six days.

(Ismaning/Dortmund) The IFOY TEST DAYS featured new developments from Cargotec Engineering, Jungheinrich, Locus Robotics, Magment, NAiSE, Noyes Technologies, robominds, SICK, SSI SCHÄFER, STILL, stow robotics, and SYNAOS. These and many other companies took the opportunity to present their total of 51 innovations to potential customers at the TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS from March 21 to 23. The B2B visitors – primarily in senior positions in logistics, industry, and trade – traveled to the Ruhr area metropolis for hands-on testing and intensive networking discussions without the hustle and bustle of a trade fair in the more than 10,000 square meter hall of the IFOY partner Messe Dortmund. Ranging from forklifts and warehouse technology to AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) and software, specials, and robotic solutions, numerous devices and solutions were available in the testing arena.

The discussions primarily focused on innovation and sustainability. The organizer, the IFOY organization, also made sustainability a principle and took a series of measures to effectively conserve resources. The focus was on reusability and recycling, the use of renewable energies, and above all, the fundamental renunciation of non-essential equipment. The declared goal was to establish a new, sustainable event format in logistics.

Premiere Congress Program

This year saw the premiere of the congress program featuring prominent panel discussions on the trending topics of innovation management, intralogistics 4.0, and VDA 5050. The keynote on the opening day was delivered by the internationally renowned logistics researcher Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael ten Hompel (Fraunhofer IML) on the topic “How Innovations Change Logistics.”

From March 18 to 23, the nominees in the now tenth round of the competition were critically examined by an official tester, a research team, and the international IFOY jury. On Tuesday, representatives from the twelve manufacturers received the “Best in Intralogistics” certificates from Steffen Bersch, the new chairman of the VDMA specialist association for materials handling and intralogistics.

Audit in Three Parts

The IFOY audit for the nominees again consisted of three parts this year. First, all devices underwent the IFOY test conducted by Dutch intralogistics expert Theo Egberts. In this process, the finalists in each category are compared not with each other but with the relevant devices of the competition. The industrial trucks underwent standardized driving and functional tests, including the IFOY test protocol, which encompasses more than 80 criteria, considering factors such as sustainability, cost-effectiveness, safety, and ergonomics of the nominees.

In the second part of the audit, researchers conducted the IFOY Innovation Check. Scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) in Dortmund, the Chair of Technical Logistics at the University of Dresden, the Chair of Materials Handling, Material Flow, and Logistics at the Technical University of Munich, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology and Automation IPA in Stuttgart assessed the nominees in terms of market relevance, customer benefit, execution type, and degree of innovation. The audit concluded with the evaluation by the 25 jurors and their approved advisors. The jury members – trade journalists from all continents – were presented with all results of the IFOY test and the IFOY Innovation Check for voting.

Winners to Be Announced at the End of June

A reunion took place at the TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS with the AGV Mesh-Up initiated by the VDMA specialist association for materials handling and intralogistics and its member companies. Following the world premiere of the first live test of the communication interface VDA 5050 last year, the test scenario was reintroduced in 2022, giving B2B visitors another opportunity to observe the functions of the Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) and engage with developers and scientists. This year, not only some new manufacturers participated in the AGV Mesh-Up, but also extended functionalities of the communication interface were presented. Participants in the AGV Mesh-Up included the companies DS AUTOMOTION, ek robotics, Fraunhofer IML, incubed IT, Omron Electronics, SAFELOG, Siemens, and SYNAOS.

Neither the participants of the TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS nor the nominees will learn who has won an IFOY AWARD during the IFOY TEST DAYS. They will have to wait until the IFOY AWARD Night on June 30, 2022, which will take place in Munich this year.

Photo: © IFOY AWARD