Jungheinrich is celebrating after winning two of the four categories at the inaugural International Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY) awards ceremony.

Organised by leading German trade bodies, VDMA Materials Handling and the Logistics Systems Sector Association, the IFOY Awards have been launched to identify and recognise outstanding achievements in the materials handling sector.

The awards are open to all manufacturers of materials handling equipment who supply products or services to the European market and the winner in each category is picked by a jury made up of well respected trade journalists.

Jungheinrich’s DFG/TFG 540s engine truck range was voted the outstanding product in the IFOY Counterbalanced Trucks (3.5 tonne capacity and above) category, while the Jungheinrich ETV/ETM 214/216 reach truck was named IFOY’s Warehouse Truck of the Year.

Launched last year, the Jungheinrich DFG/TFG 540s counterbalanced engine truck range features hydrostatic drive technology and has been designed to offer the lowest noise levels and emissions. Fuel consumption is also particularly low and over a number of operational tests, the truck made large, fuel cost savings in comparison to competitor’s conventional torque converter counterbalanced trucks.

Meanwhile, the ETV/ETM 214/216 reach truck is a recent addition to Jungheinrich’s range of sit-on reach trucks. The trucks feature the latest generation AC technology which offers exceptionally high performance and reduces operating costs to a minimum. They also benefit from a fully sealed electronic controller and custom designed onboard software specifically tailored for forklift truck use. Because it is bespoke the software helps to increase both truck reliability and energy efficiency still further.

The IFOY Awards were presented at a ceremony held at the recent Transport Logistics 2013 exhibition in Munich.