Industrial Innovation Awards Are Back — and Bigger Than Ever

If you've been reading New Equipment Digest for a while, you may remember the NED Innovation Awards. We ran the program for several years before life—and a global pandemic—put things on hold. It's been a few years, but I'm happy to say the program is back, and this time, it's grown into something bigger.

We're relaunching as the Industrial Innovation Awards, and for the first time, we're doing it in partnership with our colleagues at Plant Services. Bringing these two brands together made a lot of sense.

NED has long been the go-to resource for the latest equipment and technology entering the market. Plant Services has spent decades serving the people responsible for keeping that equipment running. Together, we cover the full picture of industrial operations—from acquisition to implementation to long-term performance. And on top of all that, our brands work closely together every single day, so it seemed like a no-brainer to combine our efforts in this program.

The awards are designed to recognize the products that go beyond incremental improvement. Every year, manufacturers release hundreds of new tools, machines, and systems—and most of them are good. Many are genuinely great. But a handful of them do something different. They change the way a process works, solve a problem the industry didn't know how to solve, or bring a capability to the plant floor that simply didn't exist before. Those are the products this program exists to celebrate.

We're looking for innovations across the full spectrum of industrial technology—OEM equipment, automation, controls, MRO solutions, safety systems, software, and everything in between. If it was built by a manufacturer for a manufacturer and released to market between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025, it's eligible.

There are a couple of notable changes to be aware of: product categories and voting.

Unlike previous versions of this program, product categories are no longer part of the submission process. Instead of trying to fit your product into one of our product categories, it will be judged on its merits for its tasks, applications, and sectors.

With voting, while we are still planning on offering a people's choice voting component, our main evaluation will be done through a panel of judges looking at demonstrated performance, real-world problem solving, ease of integration, and overall value.

Submissions are open now through May 27, 2026.

If you've brought something to market in the past year that you believe belongs in this conversation, I'd encourage you to enter. And if you work with suppliers or manufacturers whose products have made a real difference in your operations, pass this along to them.

For more information or to start your submission: Submit a Product for the Industrial Innovation Awards