After plans for the acquisition were announced earlier this year, ITIS Holding – investors in smart transportation technologies – has now completed its takeover of the developer of sector-specific machine vision automation solutions, Vitronic Group.
Expanding the presence of ITIS Holding in automation solutions involving machine vision, the PPF Group-owned investors have bought family-owned Vitronic, designers and manufacturers of automation solutions for the industrial sector such as traffic management, logistics, automotive, medical devices and solar cells.
ITIS Holding’s previous investments in the smart transportation sector include electronic toll systems and related payment solutions. But this acquisition of Vitronic shows the investment group’s broadening focus beyond transportation.
Broadening investment focus from PPF Group’s ITIS Holding
“Our aim is to grow the machine vision technology overall and build the market leading end-to-end solution provider,” said ITIS Holding CEO, Matej Okali. “PPF is investing €50m into Vitronic’s capital structure to push the R&D specifically for innovation, specifically in future topics like sustainability and AI.”
Meanwhile, Daniel Scholz-Stein, CEO of Vitronic added: “They have the confidence in Vitronic’s technology, approach and long-term customer relationships, and see a large potential for greater revenues with strong margins, specifically in some automation sectors.”
Machine vision applications for manufacturing, logistics and smart city solutions
Amongst Vitronic’s machine vision solutions are those used to automate industrial tasks. For example, in the warehousing and distribution sector, the company sells systems that can read codes and plain text on packages traveling on conveyors at distribution centres. And in the medical industry, Vitronic sells solutions that inspect insulin pens, IV bags, transdermal patches and medicine vials. Meanwhile, in traffic management, solutions are sold that enforce compliance with traffic signals and speed limits, as well as collecting tolls and restricting vehicle access to specific zones.
With a recognisable client list including BMW, Daimler, DHL and B. Braun – a medical device company – in Germany, as well as UPS and Sanofi – a pharmaceutical company – in the US and France respectively, the acquisition will help ITIS Holding to grow its reach across Europe and the US.
