Crown "crowned" ... again

What does the Crown TSP 6000 Series Turret Stockpicker have in common with the Toyota Prius, PowerMac G5, RazR V3 mobile phone and hydrogen-powered Intelligent Energy ENV Bike? They've all been recognized by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) for excellence in design in the past five years.

Crown's TSP 6000 turret truck garnered a silver Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA) in this year's competition. The latest award, which was presented in the Business and Industrial Products category, brings to 14 the total number of IDEA awards Crown has received over the last 16 years.

In preparation for designing the truck, Crown's industrial design team visited 65 sites in North America and Europe to research the needs of lift truck operators, distribution center managers and third-party logistics operations. From those interviews, the team determined that a radically reconfigured design was required to address different styles of warehousing. The result was a turret truck that offers both a front-facing and side-facing seat position (previously only available in separate truck models) to allow operators to perform a wider variety of tasks.