Dag-Adler Blakseth and Jakob Hatteland Receive the 2025 Moderne Transport Award.

Two of the visionaries behind AutoStore and Element Logic, who believed in the technology long before the rest of the world caught on, have received the 2025 Moderne Transport Award 

About the Moderne Transport Award 

The Moderne Transport-prisen is Norway’s leading logistics award, honoring individuals or companies that have made exceptional contributions to innovation and development in the transport and logistics sector. Since 1969, it has spotlighted pioneering efforts that enhance efficiency and strengthen the industry’s position both nationally and globally. 

This year, the award recognizes Jakob Hatteland and Dag-Adler Blakseth for their unwavering commitment to transforming AutoStore from a local invention into a globally leading technology – and for putting Norway on the map within warehouse automation. 

Jakob Hatteland is the founder of Hatteland Electronics, the company that first developed AutoStore in 1996. Dag-Adler Blakseth is the co-founder of Element Logic and currently serves as Chair of the Board. 

“These are two individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary perseverance, technological foresight, and collaborative strength – placing Norway firmly on the global map of warehouse automation,” said Moderne Transport editor Øyvind Ludt and jury chair Eirill Bø in a joint statement. 

The award was presented on October 27, 2025, in recognition of the decisive role both Hatteland and Blakseth have played in one of Norway’s most remarkable industrial success stories. 

A Partnership That Revolutionized Warehousing 

The journey began in 1996 when Jakob Hatteland sought a smarter way to store inventory. Working alongside Technical Director Ingvar Hognaland, Hatteland Electronics developed AutoStore – a compact robotic system designed to optimize warehouse space. What began as an internal solution quickly became something much greater. 

In 2003, an essential meeting between Hognaland and co-founder Kjell Blakseth of Element Logic set the project in motion. Just six months later, Element Logic installed the world’s first AutoStore system at Norwegian company Elotec. The system is still running today, more than 20 years later.  

This marked the beginning of a groundbreaking partnership and a technology that now boasts thousands of installations across the globe. 

Long-Term Vision as a Competitive Edge 

AutoStore could easily have remained a niche idea in a small town in Norway. But both Hatteland and Blakseth chose to invest, long before the technology showed any signs of profitability. It would take over 15 years before AutoStore experienced true commercial success. 

Their endurance, combined with a shared belief in Norwegian innovation, became a critical factor in the technology’s global breakthrough. 

At Element Logic, we saw the potential early on. While others viewed it as a “crazy robot idea,” we embraced it. And we built the very first system in the world. That pioneering spirit continues to define who we are. 

Global Recognition 

The momentum has only accelerated. In 2023, Jakob Hatteland and Ingvar Hognaland became the first Norwegians ever inducted into the Logistics Hall of Fame in Berlin. AutoStore was described as “one of the most important inventions in modern logistics”, on par with industry legends such as Henry Ford and Jeff Bezos. 

In 2025, yet another milestone: Time Magazine included AutoStore on its prestigious list of the year’s 300 most impactful inventions, highlighting its role in advancing artificial intelligence and warehouse automation. 

Now, Hatteland and Blakseth are also being recognized at home in Norway with one of the industry’s highest honors. 

A Partnership Shaping the Future 

The story of AutoStore and Element Logic goes far beyond technological innovation. It is a story of vision, resilience, and the power of collaboration – where the meeting point between humans and machines fuels a smarter future. 

Today, Element Logic is a global player. As AutoStore’s first partner and the world’s largest AutoStore distributor, we remain tightly connected to the technology and its evolution. Together with our customers, we continue to build solutions that maximize warehouse performance while minimizing waste, space usage, and downtime. 

Jakob Hatteland and Dag-Adler Blakseth have shown what is possible when technological curiosity meets industrial patience – and most importantly, when you dare to think big. 

Congratulations on a well-deserved award. 

This article is based on the news story originally published by Øyvind Ludt in Moderne Transport on October 27, 2025.