ORLANDO, FL-Don W. Cochran, chairman and CEO of Pressco Technology Inc., was presented with the 2008 Automated Imaging Achievement Award during a ceremony held at the Automated Imaging Association’s (AIA) 16th Annual Business Conference in Orlando, FL.

Cochran was nominated by AIA members and selected from a talented pool of candidates by its board of directors, who wished to recognize him for his accomplishments and for his outstanding contributions to the machine vision and imaging industry. The award was presented by John Merva, AIA’s 2007 president and vice president - business development of CCS America Inc.

Cochran has more than four decades of experience in high-production manufacturing, factory automation, robotic systems, and automated machine vision inspection. In 1982, he founded Pressco Automation Group. The company’s primary market focus is in the food, beverage, and container industries with approximately 60% of its production exported internationally.

Cochran was recognized for 40 years of innovation and leadership in the machine vision industry. He holds 17 U.S. patents relative to machine vision, lighting and optics, and has other U.S. and international patents pending. Also serving as Pressco’s chief technology officer, he led the development of nine generations of machine vision products. Today, proof of his accomplishments can easily be found in the more than 5,000 complete turnkey systems operating on-line at high speeds in 59 countries around the globe.

The annual award, sponsored by the AIA, honors one industry leader for outstanding contributions in promoting market acceptance of industrial and/or scientific imaging.