IAPA 2026 judges announced

The panel of five judges for the 2026 International Awards for Powered Access (IAPAs) have been announced.

IAPA winners 2025,

Set in the historic and vibrant city of Istanbul, Turkey the 2026 International Awards for Powered Access (IAPAs) will again celebrate excellence and best practice in the access industry when they take place on 22 April next year. The event will take place alongside the IPAF Summit, which is also open for booking tickets.

There are 13 award categories to choose from, offering the complete range of new products and innovations to sustainability and safety, alongside equality and diversity in the workplace. Companies and individuals can enter as many categories as you like.

Please submit entries by the Friday 5 December deadline - find the entry forms here. 

The IAPA 2026 judges

The IAPA judges have the distinguished responsibility of reading through the dozens of entries from the industry each year before choosing the shortlist and ultimate winners. IPAF and Access International would like to thank the 2026 judges for agreeing to take on this important role.

Ren Huilli.

Dr. Ren Huili, Vice President of Zoomlion Group, holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Design and is the Founder and General Manager of Zoomlion Access. Dr. Ren said he has a ‘mission of making working-at-height greener, safer, and simpler.’ He has led innovations in electrification of MEWPs at the company and has pioneered new technologies, including the ultra-boom that first broke the 68m and advanced to an 82m model, as well as safety systems that integrate inherent, operational, and management. Under his leadership, Zoomlion Access has risen to become the world’s fifth-largest access equipment manufacturer, with a full range of products sold in more than 100 countries and regions.

Shaika Mahfoudh.

Shaikha Ben Mahfoudh is Head of Training at Dayim Equipment Rental, based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She transformed the centre into an IAPA 2023 award-winning facility, achieving targets set by the company through innovative training program design and client partnerships. Also recognized as IPAF Instructor of the Year 2025, Mahfoudh previously worked as Client Success Manager at Tenderd Track and Customer Service & Training Manager at Rapid Access, focusing on operational performance and revenue growth.

Kai Schliephake.

Kai Schliephake is the Deputy President of IPAF, having been a board member of council member for the federation since 2013. Schliephake is also the CEO & Managing director of PartnerLift, which represents a network of independent rental companies in Germany with 130 depots and more than 15.000 rental machines, more than 50% of which are aerial platforms. Previously Schliephake was Managing Director of JLG Deutschland and responsible for sales and service in Germany, Austria & Switzerland.

Stephanie Erasmus.

Stephanie Erasmus. As the first female owner of a rental company in South Africa, Erasmus, is aiming to bring Kwick Access Rentals, which has a fleet of just under 100 units into the top five players in the country. With a background in Finance Erasmus took the leap into construction in 2008, where she gained valuable commercial experience in the contracting field. The next step was to take the plunge into rental with the creation of Quick Access Rental in 2015, based in Johannesburg.

Abdullah Tuncer.

Abdullah Tuncer is Deputy Secretary General of Platformder and IPAF’s Country Manager for Turkey. Tuncer has been involved in the MEWP sector since 2011 as a member of a range of relevant committees, culminating in the foundation of Platformder in 2017 – Turkey’s first and only specialized MEWP association. He contributed to the formation of the Rental Committee within the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) and is the publisher of Platformdergi, Turkey’s only MEWP sector magazine, and serves as the Chair of the Mirror Committee at the Turkish Standards Institution (TSE), overseeing standardization efforts relevant to the industry.

As always, the IAPAs offer outstanding networking opportunities, and will take place on the same day as the IPAF Summit, with top level presentations on the latest topics. The events start on 21 April, with the IPAF & IAPA Welcome Reception - another chance to network and socialise in a relaxed setting the day before the IPAF Summit and IAPAs.

Find out more information about the awards, Summit and other events and how to book and enter at the event website.