Daniel Seiler, Managing Director of IDS since 2015, will leave the company at his own request after 14 years. In various roles, he has made a significant contribution to the company's success in recent years, including the development of the North American business.
Jürgen Hartmann, founder and owner of the leading industrial camera manufacturer, will remain Managing Director and will continue Daniel Seiler's main operational tasks from March 1, 2020. At the same time, Jan Hartmann, eldest son of the company founder, joins the IDS management board as the second family generation. This underlines the independence of the family business. In addition to his existing tasks in the recently founded sister company IDS Innovation GmbH with its associated "b39 Academy", Jan Hartmann will be responsible for the human resources, finance and IT divisions.
Alexander Lewinsky, who has been Head of Operations since 2018, joins the extended management team and will be given a procuration authority.
"We would like to thank Daniel Seiler for his successful work, which he has always carried out with great commitment and reliability. In particular, he had great success in the internationalisation of the core business. We regret his decision but we would like to wish him all the best for his private and professional future," underlines Jürgen Hartmann. "With this rejuvenation of the IDS management team, we are very confident about the future. Based on the positive order situation and the strong development of international business we are looking ahead to the VISON year with great optimism."
As in previous years, IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH was able to exceed industry expectations in 2019. With a sales increase in the higher single-digit percentage range, the company has held its ground well in the market, contrary to the 7% sales decline forecast by the VDMA for machine vision. The increase in sales was particularly strong in North America compared to the previous year.
For 2020 the camera manufacturers from Southern Germany are again aiming for double-digit growth. This is based on the positive order situation, with a 16% increase over the previous year, and the strong development of the foreign business. Delivery of the 1.5 millionth camera is expected in the second quarter.
Overall, the foreign presence at almost all locations was further strengthened by new hires in the areas of sales and machine vision consulting. The relocation of the subsidiaries in the USA, Japan, UK and Korea to larger premises reflects these developments and paves the way for further growth.
The growth forecast for the VISION year 2020 is based primarily on the new IDS NXT cameras with artificial intelligence and the high demand in the 3D segment. New products will complement the IDS product range especially in these areas. The IDS NXT ocean all-in-one solution has already been on the market for a short time and promises the user AI-based image processing without specialist knowledge.
"We continue to grow, develop innovative products and therefore remain a reliable and powerful partner for the future," explains managing director Daniel Seiler. "Thanks to high investments in our infrastructure in 2019, we are ideally positioned for the increased order intake and a further increase in demand”.
The new Innovation and Technology Center "b39" will be ready for occupancy in the course of the second half of the year. In addition to IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH, the main user of the 4,500 sqm complex, in which jobs for 200 employees will be created, will be the sister company IDS Innovation GmbH, which will operate the "b39 Academy", specialising in the teaching of digital professional, methodological and technical skills.
