Crown officials were elated after the company figured among the top three spots in this year’s Ranking:Design awards in the “Transportation and Special Use Vehicles Category”. The top place went to BMW with Neumeister Design ranked second.

Crown, which reported close to $1 billion in turnover for 2002, shared the third position with Porsche, outranking many companies known for strong design such as Audi (seventh), Daimler Chrysler (sixth) and Jaguar (10th).

Ranking:Design, published annually by design.net AG in Germany, is now in its sixth year and has established itself as an independent benchmark for internationally acknowledged design competence. It provides an overview of design competence in Europe and pays tribute to outstanding achievements of design-oriented manufacturers and industrial designers.

The annual awards are based on the evaluation of 19 of the top German design competitions organised at the federal and state levels, with the participation of numerous German and foreign companies. The definition of 10 product groups, such as “Trade and Industry”, “Transportation and Special Use Vehicles” and “Public Design”, makes the publication an invaluable reference work for professional audiences and decision-makers.

The rankings of the best designers and manufacturers are achieved from the prizes and awards of the key German competitors, with different weightings on the importance of the individual contests. The rankings are not related to single products but rather the successful design work of a company throughout the past year.

“Crown’s success in the Ranking:Design awards testifies to the precision of Crown’s design strategy. The design of each Crown product begins where it also ends - in the minds and hands of our customers. This method of design is a Crown distinction,” says Mike Gallagher, Crown vice president - Design Centre.

Crown Equipment Corporation is a global company, based in New Bremen/Ohio, and produces a complete range of counterbalance and warehouse electric forklift trucks. Since 1987 the European headquarters has operated in Munich/Germany. Crown manufactures in six US locations and in Australia, Mexico, Ireland and Germany. Apart from South and North America (25 Crown branches and 90 independent distributors) Crown operates branches in the UK, Germany, Belgium and Holland. Supporting these are more than 40 distributors throughout the rest of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India. Crown employs some 6.400 people worldwide.