There’s no single trade show that could possibly showcase every single forklift manufacturer out there, because there are literally hundreds. However, CeMAT 2018 that was held in Hannover, Germany, in April, managed to include many of the top forklift suppliers from all across the globe.

A lot of well known U.S. brands skipped the large forklift and in-house logistics exhibition but there were many manufacturers from the continents of Europe, Asia and North America in attendance. There was an abundance of forklift trucks and vehicle types on display from various companies, all presented to an overall attendance figure of over 200,000 visitors.

A few central trends and themes of the industry were highlighted at this years’ exhibition, alongside many new forklift models and concepts…

Various new industry innovations were on display

Manitou showcased many of their machines at the show, including the ER16 reach truck and the EP15 electrical pallet truck. They also displayed some new tailored solutions such as the ES7 “special applications” stacker from the Loc brand.

Toyota presented its own lithium-ion battery system, as part of their commitment to take advantage of Li-ion technology, and the Japanese market leader also used the exhibition to launch the all-new Toyota Traigo 80 heavy-duty 80 V counterbalance truck.

Europe’s number one supplier of warehousing technology, Jungheinrich was in attendance with one of the largest displays. As part of their showcase they introduced their EKX 516a electric pick-up truck, which transported a 1.5 T pallet load to its destination, fully automatically. Cesab Material Handling Europe, even showed off their range of forklifts through virtual reality technology.

These are just a few examples of the new and current equipment and solutions that were on display.

A few central trends were highlighted

The Hannover exhibition focused on a few key industry trends, including the growing impact of artificial intelligence on the factory environment, as well as the increasing convergence between IT and mechanical engineering. With many products, including industrial trucks, autonomous shuttles, AR goggles and order-picking robots, highlighting the trend towards human and machine collaboration.

Energy efficiency, specifically in regards to climate protection was also a central theme of the exhibition this year. With displays in the energy-related exhibition halls drawing attention to smart energy systems, with a focus on infrastructure solutions to further develop environmentally friendly mobility.

Overall the event was deemed a huge success, with organisers confirming that the CeMAT will be held again in April 2020, in conjunction with the trade show giant Hannover Messe.

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