Machine vision trade fair VISION moves to a biennial cycle

Next VISION in November 2014 – VISION 2013 will not take place – Deci-sion taken in line with international market developments, according to a vote by exhibitors and for the benefit of visitors

Photo by Messe Stuttgart

VISION is changing to a biennial cycle with immediate effect. This means that VISION 2013 will not take place. This decision was taken after extensive analyses by Messe Stuttgart in conjunction with the VDMA Machine Vision Association and key players in the machine vision industry. “The new biennial cycle will extend the leading position of VISION still further and consolidate its importance as a global innovation platform”, emphasised Ulrich Kromer, Managing Director of Messe Stuttgart. “Thanks to this strategic development, VISION will also be adapted to the changed needs of the machine vision industry.”

“Through this decision, VISION is taking account of the request by many exhibitors. They want to offer trade visitors a genuine raft of innovations. The biennial cycle provides the best conditions in this respect”, explained Patrick Schwarzkopf, Head of the VDMA Machine Vision Association, the professional and promotional supporter of VISION.

In November 2012 VISION celebrated its 25th anniversary and the hitherto largest and most successful edition of the event. It has accompanied the machine vision industry over the last 25 years, and has grown with it. It is now essential to establish a good position for the industry’s leading trade fair during the next 25 years and develop it even further. “The biennial cycle will provide visitors with considerable value-added. They will see more world premières at every event”, said Dr. Olaf Munkelt, Managing Director of MVTec, with conviction. “Since we can now prepare for VISION in an even more focused manner, we will come up with more innovations. Dr. Joost van Kuijk, Vice President of Marketing & Technology of Adimec , is confident that “the importance of VISION will therefore be further increased”.

With the change to a biennial cycle, VISION can also be permanently staged on the worldwide introduced November date in Hall 1, the L-Bank Forum. This would not have been possible every year with an annual date. It was therefore an ideal opportunity now to change the cycle of the trade fair. As a result, the trade fair calendar will also be spaced out for those exhibitors who are increasingly focusing on specific industry trade fairs with special solutions. This is welcomed in general.

Photo by Messe Stuttgart

“It will certainly lead to increased efficiency for both exhibitors and visitors. And VISION will be further strengthened as the leading innovation platform for the machine vision industry. In our capacity as a trade fair company, we will actively accompany the machine vision industry during this systematic development step”, said Florin Niethammer, VISION Project Manager. “VISION is and will remain the undisputed world’s leading trade fair with our full support. This step will consolidate and extend its market position”, said Dr. Dietmar Ley, Chairman of the Board of Management of Basler AG. Cognex, a global player and the market leader in the machine vision industry, also regards VISION as the “world’s leading trade fair for the machine vision industry”, said Dirk Rathsack, Vice President MVSD Sales & Service Europe, Cognex Germany. Christof Zollitsch, Managing Director of Stemmer Imaging: “We are supporting Messe Stuttgart in its project. Visitors will therefore see a further increase in the expertise of exhibitors.”

However, there are also some less euphoric voices: “The previous annual cycle was ideal for us and many other exhibitors. Nevertheless, we support the decision to change to a biennial cycle. We see VISION in a process of strategic further development which will let it play an even more important international role in future than is currently the case”, said Dr. Klaus-Henning Noffz, Managing Partner of Silicon Software.

With a broad vote in favour of the new cycle, VISION 2013 will be cancelled and replaced by VISION 2014. The stated joint objective of all participants to adapt the VISION cycle to visitors’ information needs and the innovation speed of the machine vision industry will be implemented, as requested, with immediate effect. VISION 2014 will open its doors again in the L-Bank Forum (Hall 1) from 4 to 6 November 2014.

• CID: 19968