Crown recognized for new technology

SYDNEY – Crown has won the International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY) Award 2020 in the “Warehouse Truck Highlifter” category for the company’s ESR 1000 Series of reach trucks.  The new ESR 1000 Series won the IFOY Award 2020 on the back of multiple innovations for boosting productivity, connectivity and operator safety. These include Crown’s newly developed Gena operating system and Xpress Lower mast-lowering technology

Transport and logistics services provider Voigt Logistik has been using the reach truck for some time and is impressed: “Crown’s recently launched ESR 1000 Series is a reach truck that our operators have come to appreciate for its many innovative features such as Auto Height Select, Capacity Data Monitor and the brand new, intuitive Gena operator experience,” reports Jan-Peter Wingert, site manager at Voigt Logistik in Neumünster, Germany.

The Gena operating system, newly developed by Crown makes its debut in the ESR 1000 Series. A 7-inch colour touchscreen allows the operator to choose from 25 languages and from a growing range of widgets displaying key forklift functions such as operating time, steering angle, speed and battery charge. The new Gena operating system optimizes the forklift’s performance ­and makes crucial information easy to see, understand and use, helping operators to boost their productivity.

Another ESR 1000 innovation is the Xpress Lower technology, which is capable of doubling the truck’s mast-lowering speed to 1.1 m/s. This speed is unique in the market, enabling up to 21 percent more productivity overall. Far from consuming extra energy, the mast-lowering function feeds the energy released during the lowering process back into the battery. In combination with the ESR 1000’s regenerative braking system, this can result in energy savings of up to 11 percent.

Crown has a flexible response to the various energy sources currently available on the market. Like all Crown lift trucks, the new ESR 1000 Series is available with lithium-ion power, but it can also be switched over to lead-acid batteries at any time to match the energy profile of specific applications.

The Auto Height Select feature enhances precision. Operators can use this automatic, predefined height selector to stop the forks at programmed rack heights or by using the one touch button to stop the forks at the next programmed height. This precise, automated positioning helps to avoid product, rack and truck damage while simultaneously improving throughput. As the forks rise, the truck’s colour display shows their current shelf height, alerting the operator as soon as the forks reach the programmed target height. Programming different rack heights for multiple warehouse zones is straightforward by utilizing the remote navigation knob used in conjunction with the Gena display.

The Capacity Data Monitor is an equally useful feature, giving operators an at-a-glance view of load weight, lift height and residual capacity so they can ensure that load handling stays within safe limits.