MHI announces 2024 innovation awards

MHI announced the winners of the 2024 MHI Innovation and Startup Awards on March 13 at MHI Industry Night at MODEX 2024.

The MHI Innovation Award serves to educate and provide valuable insights on the latest manufacturing and supply chain products and services to MODEX attendees. MODEX 2024 exhibitors were called to submit a new product, product line, technology or service or new application of existing products or technology that create quantifiable and sustainable results in terms of ROI, cost savings, customer satisfaction, etc.

A panel of volunteer judges from the industry assessed the 193 submissions for this year’s awards.

Three finalists were chosen and announced in each category – Best Innovation of an Existing Product, Best IT Innovation, Best New Innovation, and Best New Innovation in Sustainability based on concept, value, and impact.

The 2024 MHI Innovation Award winners are:

• Best Innovation of an Existing Product – ForwardX Robotics
• Best IT Innovation – Configura, Inc.
• Best New Innovation – Slip Robotics
• Best New Innovation in Sustainability – Avery Dennison

ForwardX won for its Apex C1500-L Autonomous Forklift, which has an array of multi-line LiDARs and obstacle recognition cameras. It surpasses conventional CE certification standards. The Apex C1500-L’s design allows for the autonomous recognition and adjustment to pallet pockets, irrespective of the pallets’ orientation.

Configura was recognized for its for its CET Material Handling product. CET operates in 2D and 3D and uses Parametric Graphical Configuration (PGC) technology to eliminate errors, improve efficiency and streamline the design process. Real-time Bill of Materials, pricing, and comprehensive documentation creation contribute to error reduction and overall project success.

“I’m so proud and happy to be a part of this great team and the work we have accomplished to position Configura at the forefront of the material handling industry,” said Stefan Persson, CEO of Configura. “After more than 30 years, we continue to produce innovative products and services for the global design community and remain committed to listening to our customers and developing our products to best suit their needs.”

Slip Robotics won the innovation award for its SlipBot Automated Loading Robots (ALRs). The system allows a truck to be unloaded in five minutes. SlipBot ALRs carry 10 to 20 pallets per minute (and other freight types, including parcels) between any trailer and staging area. Companies using SlipBots have increased dock throughput by 300 percent, reduced truck and trailer idle time by 91 percent, reduced labour downtime costs by 85 percent, reduced total freight damage by 40 percent, and even increased total facility output by 20 percent by freeing up productive space in the facility.

Avery Dennison’s linerless labels were recognized for sustainability. They produce no liner waste, no matrix waste, and no media is used between labels resulting in 50 percent more labels per roll and 32 percent less material used vs standard linered product. A switch from DT Linered product to DT Linerless results in 49 percent reduction in carbon and 34 percent reduction in water.

2024 MHI StartUp Award

Gig and Take was the winner of the 2024 MHI StartUp Award. The StartUp Pavilion is a specialized area on the MODEX show floor where companies showcase emerging supply chain tech and innovation. This award was chosen by supply chain professionals at the MODEX event. Gig and Take impressed the judges with their software solution, showcasing a user-friendly interface and the capability to offer flexible, accessible schedules to workers, effectively mitigating concerns related to labour shortages.