Defying the odds, Modex celebrates 75th year with raucous Industry Night

In the face of adversity, MHI celebrated its 75th anniversary at MHI Industry Night with Colin Jost on Wednesday, and crowned the winners of the annual MHI Innovation Awards.

Jost quipped that Modex persevered in the face of a global pandemic even as Boston canceled St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, “which is like canceling Christmas at the North Pole.” Citing the MHI website, Jost said he couldn’t think of a better time to meet face to face with visitors from more than 150 countries.

“I honestly can’t figure out what this event is about,” Jost admitted. “I looked at the Show Daily and saw topics like robots, data and analytics. Then I saw Nikki Haley and Peyton Manning and an advertisement for shelves. I only came because I thought Modex was the name of the vaccine.”

Yard Management Solutions won an innovation award for the second Modex in a row, and Hytrol produced an Outstanding Young Professional for the second year in a row.

The three winners came from a field of 155 submissions and 12 finalists in three categories: Best New Product, Best Innovation of an Existing Product and Best IT Innovation. The contest defines innovation as a new product, product line, technology or service, new application of existing products or technology, that creates quantifiable and sustainable results in terms of return on investment (ROI), cost savings and customer satisfaction.

“The Innovation Awards program continues to grow each year and Modex 2020 exhibitors continue to push the envelope and raise the bar, disrupting and redefining how supply chains function,” said Greg Baer, director of sales for show sponsor MHI. “As you can imagine the judges had a very tough job. It’s such an exciting time to be a part of the material handling and supply chain logistics industry and the 2020 MHI Innovation Awards shine a spotlight on those products shaping the future of the industry.”

To narrow the field down to four finalists in each category, a committee of industry experts judged the submissions prior to the show. The volunteer judges represent five different companies: Groupe Deschenes, Ace Hardware Corp., Kitchen Cabinet Distributors, 3M, and Purolator. On Monday, a separate judging panel visited finalists’ exhibits to determine the winners in each category.

Finalists in the “Best New Product” category:

• WINNER—Agility Robotics (Booth 1508) – Digit
• 6 River Systems (Booth 7489) – Wall-to-Wall Fulfillment Solution
• Quarion Technology (Booth 1709) — DokSAFE
• PINC (Booth 8281) — PINC AIR (Aerial Inventory Robots)

Finalists in the “Best Innovation of an Existing Product” category:

• WINNER—OPEX Corporation (Booth 8819) — Perfect Pick HD & Sure Sort Micro-Fulfillment Solution
• Dematic (Booth 5619) – Dematic Micro-Fulfillment
• Fetch Robotics (Booth 9011) – TagSurveyor
• AutoGuide Mobile Robots (Booth 3403) – High Bay Pallet Lift Module for Robotic Autonomous Mobile Robots

Finalists in the “Best IT Innovation” category:

• Honeywell Intelligrated (Booth 7619a) – Connected Assets by Honeywell Intelligrated
• Optimal Discovery (Booth 7478) – Optimal Picking
• ORTEC (Booth 9426) – Cost to Serve solution
• WINNER—Yard Management Solutions (Booth 8178) – Yard Management Solutions

Visit [url=https://www.modexshow.com/attendees/innovation-awards.aspx]https://www.modexshow.com/attendees/innovation-awards.aspx[/url] to see all 155 entries and

Other awards announced on Industry Night:

Outstanding Young Professional
Lisa Richardson, Hytrol

The Outstanding Young Professional is awarded to an MHI member under the age of 40 who has displayed professional accomplishments and affiliations, effective leadership skills and contributions to their company and innovation at work or in the industry.

Mentor Award
John Rosenberger (J-Rose), director of iWarehouse Gateway and global telematics for The Raymond Corp.

The Mentor Award is awarded to an MHI member who offers professional guidance, is a positive and inspiring role model, instills and nurtures talent, advocates for employees and supports their professional development and possesses a commitment to the company and its people.

Brett Wood interrupted the proceedings to surprise MHI CEO George Prest and present him with a special gift to commemorate his final Modex as CEO. The panoramic photo of Atlanta is embossed with the Modex logos as well as awards the show has won since its inception under Prest’s leadership.

Modex 2020 is scheduled to be held March 9-12 at Georgia’s World Congress Center in Atlanta. The tradeshow will showcase the latest manufacturing, distribution and supply chain solutions in the materials handling and logistics industry. Modern’s complete coverage of the show.