Toyota Material Handling Europe receives three iF DESIGN AWARDS
iF Gold 2022 award for BT Reflex E-series and iF Design award for Toyota Traigo80, whilst Toyota’s Ultralifter concept receives a proof of design excellence award.
The iF Design Awards are internationally recognised as the standard for design excellence, reviewing both consumer and industrial products and services in over 80 different categories, with entries from leading designers in companies such as Bosch, Samsung and Ferrari.
The awards are judged by 132 jurors from more than 20 countries and in 2022 they have evaluated nearly 11.000 entries. In the final round 75 design experts physically assessed the entries based upon five different criteria: idea, form, function, differentiation, and impact.
Toyota Material Handling achieved remarkable results with three awards including a coveted gold award for the BT Reflex E-series reach truck.
The winners of the iF DESIGN AWARD 2022 were celebrated in Berlin's legendary Friedrichstadt-Palast on Monday, 16 May 2022. Ernesto Domínguez, President and CEO, Toyota Material Handling Europe, attended the ceremony and received a gold trophy on stage from iF CEO Uwe Cremering.
“I feel very honoured for this recognition from the prestigious iF Design award organisation. Continuous improvements and teamwork, together with commitment to our core Toyota values, made this possible. Every day our cross-functional team is focused on delivering quality, innovation and the highest value to our customers. They are eager to explore and test new ideas,” comments Ernesto Domínguez.
“I am extremely excited about this year’s recognition, and moreover, our R&D Design Center will be ranked among the top 50 in iF’s Europe rankings for 2018-2022, and Best of Commercial Vehicles, which is unique in our industry”, says Magnus Oliveira Andersson, head of Design at Toyota Material Handling Europe.
Toyota Material Handling Europe has received 25 design awards in the last 10 years. This level of international recognition confirms that the company’s approach to design is based on sound principles: safety, durability, productivity, driveability and ergonomics.
The BT Reflex E-series reach truck received iF DESIGN AWARD 2022 Gold.
The BT Reflex E-series is the world’s only forklift truck with a tilting cabin. It is designed to reduce the risk of strain for the driver in repetitive operations.
The international jury of experts commented their choice: “It's a tall order to design the perfect machine, yet that is what Toyota has done with the new BT Reflex E-series reach truck. It exemplifies outstanding design in every dimension, raising the bar in terms of safety, ergonomics, and energy efficiency. This driver-friendly truck is a richly deserved Gold Winner.”
The BT Reflex was launched in May 2021, and earlier this year also received the German Design Award.
Toyota Traigo80 – Electric forklift truck – iF DESIGN AWARD 2022
The fully floating driver compartment of the Toyota Traigo 80 electric counterbalance truck protects the driver from noise and vibration. It is nonetheless comfortable, open, and highly user-friendly. The touchscreen provides easy interaction between truck and driver. Powered by a lithium-ion energy pack, this truck boasts great ergonomics and a robust design for both indoor and outdoor operations, enabling users to switch to electric instead of using trucks with IC engines.
Toyota Ultralifter – High-lifting pallet drone concept
Inspired by lean thinking, the Toyota Ultralifter is a vehicle that can be trained to operate autonomously within a digital twin of a real warehouse. This way the Ultralifter can learn to recognise people and objects, as well as to make decisions and prioritise certain actions. The Ultralifter is designed to work as part of a team thanks to its on-board artificial intelligence and cloud collaboration. This allows for faster deployment of automated solutions at customer sites and flexibility to continually optimise the material flow.
In addition to the three awards on Toyota Material Handling Europe, Toyota Industries Corporation has received iF Award on its autonomous electric towing tractor.
This tractor is designed to tow container dollies loaded with baggage and other cargo at airports. This fully autonomous high-performance electric vehicle has comparable efficiency to an internal combustion engine vehicle. As well as improving efficiency at busy airports, it contributes to achieving carbon-free transportation and logistics.
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