Danish startup's self-driving pallet jack wins IFOY Industrial Truck of the Year

The Mobile Robot Company ApS, a self-funded Danish startup with nine employees, has won the 2026 IFOY Industrial Truck of the Year award for its self-driving pallet jack. The award was announced in Stuttgart in June, and the company's press release, dated Oct. 8, 2026 in Copenhagen, presents the win as a victory over established forklift manufacturers.

CEO Emil Hauch Jensen said he was "kind of shocked" by the result. He was sitting alone in the middle of the audience, surrounded by the established manufacturers his company had been competing against. The release describes it as the busiest week in the company's short life.

The headline says the pallet jack keeps humans in charge, but the text available here does not explain how the product works or what that approach involves. Jensen is quoted saying "It's not a philosophy," though the surrounding context for that remark is missing.

The company's origins go back to 2018, when Jensen met his co-founder, Mr. Skovsted, at Mobile Industrial Robots. Jensen ran sales in China there, while Skovsted led technical support and customer success.

The story matters for the Danish and Nordic robotics scene because a very small, self-funded team took a major industry award in a field dominated by large manufacturers. The material provided gives no details on the product's specifications, pricing, customers or the judging criteria, so those remain unknown from this source.