While research demonstrates very little movement in terms of positioning in 2022 and 2023, it does show some companies, such as market leader Keyence, increasing market share with a strong performance in 2023.

Cognex Corporation, headquartered in the US, made the decision in August 2023 to acquire Japanese optics components specialist Schott-Moritex for a fee of around $275m. Scott-Moritex has a strong presence in Japan and the acquisition will give Cognex a greater footing in the Japanese market, while also increasing its lens capabilities. The additional income from Scott-Moritex will help Cognex grow its market share in 2024 and beyond.

Teledyne Imaging, headquartered in Canada, is already a large multi-company corporation that has made many substantial acquisitions in recent years to grow and supplement its machine vision portfolio. In February 2024, Teledyne Imaging announced it would be acquiring Netherlands-based camera manufacturer Adimec Holding B.V for an undisclosed fee. Adimec specializes in customized high-performance industrial and scientific cameras that solve applications where image quality is of greatest importance. This acquisition will further supplement Teledyne Imaging’s large portfolio and allows it to further grow its market share going forwards, strengthening its presence in the EMEA market.#

TKH Vision, headquartered in the Netherlands, is also a very large corporation that has acquired many supplementary vision companies in recent years. TKH’s individual companies include: Allied Vision (Germany), which specializes in area scan cameras; LMI Technologies (Canada), which specializes in 3D laser-triangulation cameras; Chromasens (Germany) which specializes in Line-Scan cameras; SVS-Mikrotron (Germany) which specializes in high-end and high-speed cameras; NET (Germany) which specializes in machine vision components; Nerian (Germany) which specializes in 3D stereo cameras; and Tattille (Italy), which focuses on area-scan, line-scan and smart cameras. TKH has a strong presence already in the EMEA region and, with further acquisitions, it will continue to strengthen its position as a leading machine vision vendor.

Despite a recent flurry of activity, with a relatively fragmented vendor base, Interact Analysis expects further consolidation and acquisitions for the machine vision industry in the future, enabling vendors to provide a complete solution to customers, rather than having to combine their products with other suppliers’ technology. When speaking to vendors, they have said customers are increasingly looking for a complete solution to be provided, or a one stop shop where all future maintenance and services can be met by one company instead of several. The growth in automation in general is allowing new companies to enter the market with strong new products or designs and grow significantly. Meanwhile, long-standing and large vendors look to these new and exciting products to supplement and grow their portfolios.

Data on the machine vision market is available in our new Machine Vision 2024 report, published in January 2024. This report and data set provide the most granular data on the machine vision market ever produced. We look at the market for 11 primary products, in 20 different industries, for 9 different applications and for 38 different countries. We supply this data in terms of revenues, units shipped and ASP’s.

For the Machine Vision 2024 report, visit https://interactanalysis.com/research/machine-vision/.