Wuppertal. The screwdriving tool manufacturer Wera announced its Handcart Challenge 2017 for some time in May, around Father’s Day, and was on the lookout for the craziest handcart. Anyone could participate by posting a photo or video of her or his well-tuned handcart on Wera.
Overwhelming response
The response to a most unusual campaign was overwhelming; so much so that the five-person Tool Rebel jury had a difficult task in selecting the win-ners. All of the handcarts submitted had to satisfy the previously defined minimum requirements. Additionally – just like Wera tools – they would need to be quite different to the standard, offer space for at least two crates of beer, be able to roll and carry a Tool Rebel handcart marking. The jury then had to select the three craziest handcarts without any ranking from among the submissions that satisfied these criteria.
“Pugs + Engines”
So, for example, the handcart with the ambiguous name “Möpse + Motoren” by Thomas Voigt from Buchholz was most convincing. Eight bottles of beer can be transported in the cylinders of the symbolic engine of this vehi-cle. The passenger area offers space for two crates of beer and – more importantly – for the creator’s dog, a pug.
The “No f…ing Pocket Bike” by Benjamin Böttcher from Schmölln was cra-zy in another sort of way. A petrol-driven engine is housed in a beer crate in the towing vehicle which serves simultaneously as the driver’s seat. There is space for another beer crate on each of the single axle trailers of this convoy. Side foot rests provide the passengers sitting on them with some kind of support. Unfortunately, no details have been provided with regard to the top speeds that this motorised handcart can reach. Besides the interesting technology, the jury very much appreciated the oversized Tool Rebel logo that adorned the rear end of the second trailer.
Special prizes awarded
Overall, the inventiveness of the creators and their crafting skills in the im-plementation were so fascinating that Wera spontaneously decided not only to select the three winning entries, but to also award two special technical prizes to participants with particularly original handcarts. The winners received a package consisting of Bitburger Pils, Wera tools and a Jochen- Schweizer voucher. The special technical prize winners were given a gran-diose tool package. At the end of the event, Detlef Seyfarth, jury member and Wera Marketing Manager, was also satisfied: “The great response and the high quality of the work submitted really did surprise us most positively. That’s why we will organise another Handcart Challenge next year.”
The winners
Craziest handcarts:
Thomas Voigt, Buchholz
Daniel Piskol, Thermalbad Wiesenbad
Mike Henseler, Solingen
Special technical prizes:
Christian Hägele, Stuttgart
Benjamin Böttcher, Schmölln
