The winners of the Intralogistics Competition IFOY AWARD 2025 have been announced. During the Award Night at the Phoenix des Lumières on July 3 in Dortmund, representatives of the companies EP Equipment, Exotec, Geekplus, Interroll, Jungheinrich, Plancise, and Still received the international intralogistics award from the presenters.
Filics received the IFOY Start-up of the Year Award.
IFOY AWARD – the winners 2025 at a glance
- EP Equipment: X MOVER EXP15
- Exotec: Skypod System
- Geekplus: RoboShuttle + P40 Tote-to-Person Solution with Dr. Max Italy
- Interroll: MCP PLAY
- Jungheinrich: EFG 425
- Plancise: Workforce Management for Logistics
- Still: FM-X iGo
IFOY Start-up of the Year 2025:
- Filics: Filics Unit
Category: Warehouse Truck
In the Warehouse Truck category, the electric pallet truck "X Mover EXP15" from EP Equipment impressed the jury. The jurors see the EXP15 as a prime example of successful simplification in the automation of intra-company transport. The manually and autonomously usable pallet truck scores with robust construction, intuitive operation, and the "Record and Run" function, which allows travel paths to be learned without programming knowledge or training.
Category: Robot Warehouse System
In the Robot Warehouse System category, the IFOY AWARD 2025 goes to Exotec for the "Next Generation Skypod System". According to the company, the innovative robot generation from France impresses with a flatter design, more dynamics, and extremely high density. The robot integrates the most important functions as the only system component in a compact all-in-one system without complex subsystems such as conveyor or sorting systems. Particularly impressive is the flexible sequencing during transport and the use of space even below the shelves. The modular architecture, the thoughtful routing, and the closed process combine innovative technology with practical benefits and make the easily scalable system, according to the jury, a future-proof solution for a wide variety of industries.
Category: Integrated Customer Solution
In the Integrated Customer Solution category, Geekplus from China wins with the automation of the new Dr. Max warehouse in Telgate near Bergamo. The decisive factor for the jury was the overall package of
customer benefits, availability, and scalability with minimal personnel costs. In phase one, Geekplus Europe implemented a solution for 11,000 products in e-commerce and the pharmacy business on 1,300 square meters. 22 RoboShuttles are used for double-deep storage and 50 P40 robots for fast container transport. Pick-to-light workstations enable ergonomic, error-free picking with over 200 containers per hour and station. The jury was particularly impressed by the cleverly placed conveyor belt above the driving surface – a space-saving solution that has doubled productivity. A prime example of future-proof warehouse automation in the pharmaceutical sector, according to the jury's judgment.
Category: Special of the Year
In the Special of the Year category, Interroll from Switzerland wins with "MCP PLAY" (Modular Conveyor Platform). The control solution for their modular container and carton conveyor platform enables the simple and fast realization of systems for packages up to 50 kilograms and provides up to 30 percent energy savings. E-commerce retailers and 3PL service providers, in particular, benefit from up to 100 percent higher throughput rates. The jury speaks of a paradigm shift in conveyor technology. MCP PLAY allows precise package localization, freely scalable zone sizes, and the seamless merging of multiple lines. Innovative are the functions "Adjust to Gap" for reduced distances between packages and "Flowing Merge" for continuous merging without stopping. Thanks to an open interface, the system operates without PLC control and reduces IT complexity.
Category: Counter Balanced Truck
The winner in the Counter Balanced Truck category is the "EFG 425" from Jungheinrich. The Hamburg manufacturer's 3.5-tonne electric forklift for heavy-duty applications indoors and outdoors impressed in the IFOY test with its powerful two-motor drive, high handling performance of up to 389 pallets per shift, and exceptionally good all-round visibility thanks to a glass roof and slim mast. The jury particularly praised the combination of robust construction, improved temperature stability in attachment operation, and the ergonomic driver's cab. With its driving and lifting speeds, the EFG 425 is a powerful response to the growing demand for emission-free forklifts with
combustion engine performance, according to the jury.
Category: Intralogistics Software
The winner in the Intralogistics Software category is "Workforce Management for Logistics" from Plancise in Austria. The SaaS tool, specially developed for larger logistics centers with more than 100 employees, digitizes the previously mostly manually controlled workforce planning and adapts it to fluctuating volumes and seasonal requirements – a key competence in times of skilled labor shortage. Through dynamic capacity and daily planning in real time, the cloud software identifies under- or overstaffing and suggests targeted personnel shifts based on throughput forecasts, qualifications, and current workload. The jury particularly appreciates the innovative implementation, which not only unveils efficiency potential but also closes a previously neglected gap in intralogistics.
Category: Mobile Robot
With the "FM-X iGo," Still wins the IFOY AWARD 2025 in the Mobile Robot category. The Hamburg manufacturer's first mass-produced automated Li-Ion reach truck is a gateway for the integration of autonomous technology into existing warehouse environments. The jury was particularly impressed by the integrated safety technology according to ISO 3691-4, its narrow working aisle width, the digital service concept based on a digital twin for each vehicle, and the intuitive commissioning via iGo easy software. In a market increasingly suffering from a skilled labor shortage and high efficiency pressure, the FM-X iGo hits the mark, according to the jury. It explicitly addresses small and medium-sized companies, which have so far shied away from the challenges of complex automation projects.
IFOY Start-up of the Year 2025
Four young companies with disruptive potential competed for the IFOY Start-up of the Year Award. The Munich start-up Filics prevailed with the "Filics Unit" – a CE-certified double-fork system consisting of two autonomously driving robots that can synchronize under Euro pallets or Euro mesh boxes. The forks offer a payload of up to one ton and enable the automation of previously uneconomically automatable hand pallet truck processes in block and line warehouses or in confined production and logistics environments. The jury particularly praised the high-quality in-house developments in lifting
and driving modules, the flexible applicability in brownfield sites, and the potential for automated truck loading and unloading.
This year, 49 products were on the list of applicants for the International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY) AWARD, with 15 companies entering the finals with 21 products and solutions. "The field of finalists shows how much innovative power is in intralogistics. More than ever, the jury decisions reflect that volatile markets, increasing cost pressure, and unresolved skilled labor shortages call less for detail improvements and more for practical and economical solutions. Autonomization is a trend, but thinking simply leads to innovation," said Anita Würmser, Executive Chairwoman of the IFOY Jury in Dortmund.
The laudatory speeches were given by Nils Bücker (Managing Director, Rabe Fashion Group), Jan Drömer (Chairman, VDMA Material Handling and Intralogistics Association), Dr. Heike van Hoorn (Managing Director, German Transport Forum), Sabine Loos (CEO, Westfalenhallen Unternehmensgruppe), Prof. Dr. Markus Mau (President, European Logistics Association), Ronny Sassen (CEO Rhenus Contract Logistics, Rhenus Logistics), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thorsten Schmidt (Professor for Technical Logistics, TU Dresden) and Udo Schmidt (Vice President, Cascade Europe).
The IFOY AWARD
The IFOY AWARD is committed to recognizing the most innovative intralogistics products and solutions of the year. The basis of the decision is the three-stage audit – consisting of the IFOY test protocol comprising about 80 criteria, the scientific IFOY Innovation Check, and the jury test. The decisive factor is that the nominees are not compared to each other, but to their competing devices on the market.
The winners of the IFOY AWARD are elected annually by an international jury of trade journalists, including LOGISTIK HEUTE with Editor-in-Chief Matthias Pieringer. The IFOY AWARD is supported by the Material Handling and Intralogistics Association as well as the Robotics + Automation Association in the VDMA. The IFOY organization is based in Ismaning near Munich. The IFOY AWARD is under the patronage of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
The application phase for the IFOY AWARD 2026 starts on August 1,
