The German machine vision industry saw a 17 per cent rise in turnover in 2017, reaching €2.6 billion, according to new figures from VDMA Machine Vision.
A large proportion of the growth came from exports, which rose by 23 per cent; turnover within Germany grew by 8 per cent. China and North America made up 26 per cent of the total turnover in the German machine vision sector.
The growth met the VDMA’s predictions made in October 2017, when the organisation raised its 2017 forecast from 10 per cent growth to 18 per cent.
It also mirrors growth recorded in North America, which reached $709 million in the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 19 per cent year-on-year, according to statistics by the AIA.
VDMA Machine Vision is predicting the German vision market to reach €2.8 billion in 2018, a 7 per cent increase in turnover.
‘As a driving force for Industry 4.0, machine vision is now indispensable in modern factories and has long been part of our everyday life,’ said Dr Olaf Munkelt, who is on the board of VDMA Machine Vision. ‘Embedded vision in combination with deep learning is stimulating additional growth,’ he added.
Messe Stuttgart has also seen growth in the industry, with the amount of rented exhibition space at the Vision trade fair increasing from 11,000 square metres in 2016 to more than 12,000 square metres this year. Vision will take place from 6 to 8 November.
The number of exhibitors has increased from 440 companies in 2016 to 460 this year. Around 25 per cent of exhibitors will take part in trade fair for the first time.
