IFOY AWARD 2026: “Best in Intralogistics” certificates awarded in Dortmund

The finalists for the IFOY AWARD 2026 have cleared a decisive hurdle: The “Best in Intralogistics” certificates 2026 have been awarded at the TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS in Dortmund’s Westfalenhalle. With the seal of quality, the organizers of the International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY) AWARD recognize all companies that have reached the finals of the award and successfully completed the demanding three-stage IFOY Audit. The certificates were presented by Jan Drömer, Chairman of the Board of the VDMA Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association.

A total of 17 companies will be able to use the seal for their IFOY Finalist innovations in the future. The 2026 certificate holders include Crown, Idealworks, Jungheinrich, KNAPP, Libiao Robotics, Locus Robotics, Mobotic, Nomagic, PureLoX SOLUTIONS, SSI SCHÄFER, STILL, The Mobile Robot Company and Wiltsche Fördersysteme. AI2Connect, Koiotech, Pyck and Romb Technologies received the “Best in Intralogistics” certificate at the “IFOY Start-up of the Year” spin-off award.

The seal stands for an independently tested innovation. By making it to the IFOY final, companies undergo a standardized audit process that combines scientific analyses, extensive practical tests and final testing by an international jury of experts. The aim is to evaluate the degree of innovation, market relevance and customer benefit in a transparent and comprehensible manner.

The scientific IFOY Innovation Check is carried out by the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) in Dortmund and for Production Engineering and Automation (IPA) in Stuttgart as well as professors from the Technical Universities of Dresden and Munich. Scientists analyze the technical design and the degree of innovation, check the plausibility of the manufacturer’s specifications and evaluate the market significance and customer benefits of the solutions.

In addition, the industrial trucks undergo a detailed test protocol as part of the IFOY Test, which focuses on criteria such as cost-effectiveness, sustainability, energy efficiency, safety and ergonomics as well as the hard facts. All results are used by the international jury of specialist journalists as a basis for decision-making and are also publicly accessible.

Who will actually take home the coveted IFOY AWARD 2026 trophies will only be announced at the awards ceremony on June 25 in Stuttgart. This year’s IFOY AWARD Night will be hosted by IFOY partner AEB.

The finalists for the IFOY AWARD 2026 have been announced. Out of 49 applications, 17 products and solutions from eight nations have made it to the final round. In addition, four young companies are competing for the title of “IFOY Start-up of the Year”. The nominees are innovations from Crown, idealworks, Jungheinrich, KNAPP, Libiao Robotics, Locus Robotics, Mobotic, Nomagic, PureLoX SOLUTIONS, SSI SCHÄFER, STILL, The Mobile Robot Company and Wiltsche Fördersysteme.

AI2Connect, Koiotech, Pyck and Romb Technologies are competing for the Start-up of the Year Award.

Two projects have reached the final in the Integrated Customer Solutions category: an integrated solution from Jungheinrich at Liebherr with an AI-based warehouse management system for global spare parts logistics and a highly scalable AMR solution from Locus Robotics at The Quality Group based on the LocusONE platform.

In the Industrial Trucks category, the jury nominated the WJ 50 electric pallet truck from Crown, the STILL RX 60-50/600 forklift truck specially adapted for employees of small stature and the J1600 pallet truck from The Mobile Robot Company, which can be used manually and autonomously.

The following were selected as finalists in the Robot Warehouse System category: the AirRob PRO climbing robot from Libiao Robotics, the robot-assisted Shoebox Picker from Nomagic and the FastBots Solution shuttle solution from SSI SCHAEFER.

The finalists in the Intralogistics Software category are the automation platform AnyFleet from idealworks, the AI-supported KiSoft Delivery Solution from KNAPP and the cloud-native warehouse management system plx.wmx® from PureLoX SOLUTIONS.

In the Special of the Year category, the jury nominated the MoboDrive ST AMR steering drive unit from Mobotic and the Destuff-it mobile container unloading system from Wiltsche Fördersysteme.

Software and artificial intelligence also dominate the start-up category. AI2Connect with AI agents for ramp and yard processes, Pyck with a modular, AI-supported approach for warehouse software, Romb Technologies with visual intelligence for autonomous systems and Koiotech with the AI-based DeepCargo freight measurement system are in the running for the title of “IFOY Start-up of the Year”.

All finalists will face the IFOY Audit at the TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS on 15. and April 16, 2026 in Dortmund. There, trade visitors can experience and test the nominated innovations live. The winners of the IFOY AWARD 2026 will be honored on June 25, 2026 in the atrium of IFOY event partner AEB in Stuttgart.