Hyster Company’s H40-70A forklift series has won a 2023 GOOD DESIGN Award, a nearly 75-year-old contest that honors innovative and cutting-edge industrial, product, and graphic designs produced worldwide.  

In a Feb. 20 news release, Hyster said configurable internal combustion engine-powered forklifts are the first in the A Series, which offers ergonomic features, a low total cost of ownership, and technology engineered to help reduce the likelihood of forklift tip-overs. 

The company noted its H40-70A models are available with 4,000-to-7,000-pound lift capacities and designed around a singular base configuration; operations can tailor additional features, creating a forklift based on their specific application.

“While every operation faces [its] own unique challenges, some are common across industries – strained forklift operators, safety concerns and rising operating costs,” said Jimmy Anderson, product manager, Hyster. 

“Hyster is dedicated to designing solutions that address these widespread problems,” Anderson added, “while also helping operations tackle challenges specific to their business.”

The company said the H40-70A models are designed with ergonomics in mind; the operator compartment allows “easy entry and exit with a lowered seat, contoured hood, increased floor space, and generous head and shoulder clearance.”

A foot-activated, hand-released parking brake requires less effort than a traditional hand-applied brake to minimize operator lean and back strain, and dynamic seat adjustment provides up to 25% more forward and backward seat adjustability than the leading competitive model.

Other features, including a low dash and wide mast design, provide excellent forward visibility. A high-strength laminated glass roof is available to give the operators an unobstructed upward view to help place loads at height. 

The forklifts are also available with the Hyster Dynamic Stability System, a feature that continually monitors truck performance to help reduce the likelihood of forward and sideways tip-overs and reinforces operating best practices. 

DSS automatically limits truck speed and tilt range when it detects the truck exceeding designated thresholds while carrying a load. None of the DSS sensors require maintenance, and the trucks’ components and extended service intervals are designed to help control maintenance spending and bolster reliability.

The first GOOD DESIGN Awards expo was in 1950. Photo courtesy of GOOD DESIGN.

About the GOOD DESIGN Exhibition and Awards

Founded in Chicago in 1950, The GOOD DESIGN exhibition program began as a sponsorship between The Merchandise Mart in Chicago and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Today, The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design maintains the program. 

During the last decades, the Museum has awarded approximately 40,000 GOOD DESIGN Awards for various design and innovation achievements in materials, technology, graphic arts, packaging, and universal design by various industrial design and graphic design firms worldwide. 

For more information, visit hyster.com.