2024 Hyundai Forklifts Australian Forklift Champion Crowned

Andrew Galea has become the 2024 Australian Forklift Champion after an intense competition supported by Hyundai High Performance Forklifts at the CeMAT Australia exhibition in Melbourne.

Some of Australia’s premier forklift drivers gathered at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre to take on the course established by Hyundai High Performance Forklifts which would show off the flexibility, drivability and manoeuvrability of the Hyundai range.

Competitors had to complete a course that saw them manoeuvre pallets through a series of low and high movements of pallets from BHD Storage Solutions racking, along with moving the machinery through modular machine guarding systems supplied by Axelent Australia.

It wasn’t all down to time however. With safety being a strong tenant of the forklift and warehousing industry, the experienced independent judges were assessing competitors on their pre-run safety inspections, along with how they implemented the safety features of the Hyundai High Performance Forklifts during their timed run - designed to replicate a real world warehouse situation.

From the time practice began, the competition and eyeing off between the competitors was intense until the official first round got underway utilising the Hyundai 16BRJ-9 reach truck.

The second round of competition presented a new challenge for competitors. Not only did they have the brand new 20BE-X 2-tonne style forklift at their device - none of the operator had the opportunity to test it before their timed run.

Being a much larger machine with the latest technology - it has been in the country around six weeks - the tight course really showed who was the premier forklift driver across both pieces of equipment on the course.

Being one of two representatives from Krost Business Furniture, Galea was part of the team that prepared for the Australian Forklift Championship, tapping into their supplier base both in Victoria and New South Wales for the event. They went on a fundraising mission for official charity of the competition and CeMAT Melbourne - Healthy Heads in Trucks and Sheds - raising nearly $5000 for the foundation that is close to many within their organisation.

Also supplying contestants to the Championship was last year’s podium place getters from Primary Connect - who are aligned with the Woolworths Group - foundation partners of Healthy Heads in Trucks and Sheds, including the only female in the competition, Natasha Camilleri and last year’s runner up Robert Green from New South Wales, the pair both putting in solid efforts in this year’s events, as did Galea’s team-mate from Krost, William Canterbury.

The Hyundai High Performance Forklifts Australian Forklift Championship formed part of the annual CeMAT Australia trade show that alternates between Melbourne and Sydney. This year’s three day event attracted over 130 exhibitors with the latest technology in materials handling, supply chain management, warehousing, robotics and automation and intralogistics.

Hyundai High Performance Forklifts is the market leader in the technology and safety when it comes to forklifts in the Australian market. It’s dealer network, now 35 strong throughout Australia, provides the most connected supply chain and support to its clients right across the country.