Close to customers – worldwide
MVTec has four branches worldwide outside its headquarters in Munich. With locations in the USA, China, France and Taiwan, the company aims to be close to its customers globally. This enables MVTec to respond to local requirements worldwide. On the following pages, you can learn about the unique characteristics of individual machine vision markets and the projects the subsidiaries are working on.
Machine vision software as a platform!
The MVTec subsidiary in Boston/USA is MVTec‘s oldest foreign representative. Key Account Manager John Campbell explains how perspectives on machine vision software in the USA differ from those in other markets.
Hello, John. We spoke last year when you were about to take on a new role as Key Account Manager. How has the first year in your new role been?
John Campbell: It‘s been a lot of fun and has really inspired new ideas and methods for creating value for our customers. I am now in contact with our key accounts more intensively and over a longer period of time. It‘s very interesting, also because we get to know our customers at a much deeper level. At the same time it is my job to communicate the importance of software in solving machine vision applications in a scalable and cost-sensitive way.
What exactly do you mean by that?
John: I have been working for MVTec for 15 years. Since the beginning, we have always had the challenge that there are very few machine vision experts in most American manufacturing companies. As a result, machine vision is not a core technology for them, but rather a means to an end. It must be possible to implement applications quickly and easily. This is still the case. However, these “small” solutions are limited because they cannot perform many tasks well and cannot be scaled economically. In recent years, we have seen a shift in interest towards adopting a vision software platform concept.
In other words, machine vision software is becoming a platform for image processing solutions?
John: Exactly! Customers like the idea of being able to use whatever hardware is required to solve their applications while only supporting a single software platform no matter the challenge. That suits us, because with HALCON and MERLIC, we at MVTec offer software products that are decidedly hardware independent. HALCON in particular, with its unique combination of performance and functional diversity as well as its simple scalability, corresponds to the understanding of a platform. Using just one software also avoids a patchwork of different machine vision systems on the customer side and reduces the training and support costs required to keep their systems running. For me as a key account manager, this is interesting:
Understanding machine vision as a strategic investment and seeing machine vision software or HALCON as a platform provides customers with major benefits. Such customers are typically medium-sized and large companies that use machine vision in their own production or offer turnkey systems as OEM solution providers, as well as system integrators.
We can hold our own against strong competition
MVTec has two sites in China. The machine vision market is highly competitive in China. New strong players are regularly emerging, particularly in the field of deep learning. In this interview, Head of Sales China, Chen Liang, called Jason, explains how MVTec is holding its position.
China is one of or perhaps even the largest market for machine vision in the world. How do you manage to serve this large market so successfully?
Chen Liang, Jason: That‘s right, we cover a very large market in China. However, we have a very motivated team. The subsidiary was opened in Kunshan in 2020. Kunshan is located in the greater Shanghai area. Later on, we established a sales office in Shenzhen in 2023 so that we can also adequately serve the economically strong region in southern China. We have a total of eight MVTec employees and, together with our MVTec colleagues in Germany and our sales partner Daheng Imaging, we have built up a strong market position.
To what extent is deep learning shaping the industry in China?
Jason: Developments around deep learning in the field of machine vision have accelerated considerably in recent years. For example, numerous new companies have been founded that focus on the technology and offer corresponding algorithms and services. We observe that most deep learning applications are used in consumer electronics, electric vehicles, batteries and consumer goods. Deep learning is primarily used here for defect inspections and quality controls.
How do you convince customers to use MVTec‘s deep learning algorithms?
Jason: The competition in China is extremely strong for both rule-based and deep learning algorithms. However, we have established ourselves as a powerful provider. We convince our customers by demonstrating how MVTec‘s software products contain the most comprehensive and high-performance machine vision tools that customers need for their most demanding tasks. In 2024, MVTec China has worked with customers to develop deep learning applications in consumer electronics, displays, auto parts, etc.
We are established on the market
The MVTec subsidiary in France opened in 2023. Located in Lyon, Marc Dumont and Martin Delabre support French companies with their machine vision projects. The second year went was very successful and included a special highlight.
The idea behind MVTec‘s internationalization strategy is to be close to customers around the world. What does that mean for you in France?
Marc Dumont: We are not only responsible for France, but also for the French-speaking regions in Switzerland and Belgium. In addition, the industries in these regions are broadly diversified. We serve customers in the automotive industry, aerospace technology, pharmaceuticals, the watch industry and many more. It therefore makes sense to have employees on-site who understand the regional specifics.
Martin Delabre: I would also like to look at the technical side. The fact that MVTec has a local branch means that customers can address their inquiries directly to the manufacturer. In some cases, this offers a major advantage, as our highlight of 2024 proves.
Which highlight are you referring to?
Martin: That was a really great thing for us. The large French pharmaceutical company Aspen contacted us directly with a request. They were looking to improve an existing quality inspection process based on machine vision. The customer was not satisfied with the detection rates. This project was extremely complex, and we spent a considerable amount of time working on it. But together with our colleagues from Customer Services, achieved the required recognition rates by using deep learning algorithms.
Marc: This example shows very clearly the added value we provide. We work closely with our colleagues in Munich, in this case, with Customer Services. This is the best possible support that customers can get. And that strengthens our position in the market.
How well known are you as a subsidiary in your region?
Marc: I think we can confidently say that we have already made a name for ourselves. Of course, we can and must continue to improve. That‘s why, for example, we took part in the MVTec World Tour with two events in France. In Lyon and Paris, we showed interested parties how we can support them in their automation projects.
Martin: What I‘m particularly glad about is that in November 2024, we welcomed a new team member: Nils Noris, who is supporting us as Sales Manager in customer management. This means we are not only close to our customers but can also react quickly to increased demand.
Keeping pace with technological developments
MVTec opened its first subsidiary in Taiwan in 2024. In this interview, the two MVTec employees on site, Edward Tsai and Jash Chu, talk about the first tasks, the requirements for machine vision in Taiwan and the plans for next year.
Hello Edward, hello Jash. You are the first two employees of the MVTec subsidiary in Taiwan. Could you please introduce yourselves?
Edward Tsai: I am specialized in semiconductor manufacturing. In recent years, I have gained a lot of experience in optical 3D metrology, which is very helpful in my work as Sales Manager for MVTec. Semiconductor manufacturing is a very important industry in Taiwan and we at MVTec can contribute a lot to it. At the same time, I am currently deepening my technical knowledge at the Optical Laboratory of the National Central University (NCU) in Taiwan. This keeps me at the forefront of the latest technological developments. This is very significant as the semiconductor industry is constantly evolving.
Jas Chu: I joined MVTec in 2024 at the same time as Edward, as a Technical Sales Manager. Before that, I worked as an engineer at Photon-Tech, an MVTec sales partner, for six years. This means that I was already familiar with MVTec’s products when I started.
You’ve been with MVTec for a year now. What was your focus in the first year? Who does what?
Edward: A key objective was to understand the industry’s challenges in the field of inspection and to find appropriate solutions. In the initial phase, it is important to get first-hand market information and customer feedback. My primary goal is to strengthen the trust of Taiwanese customers in MVTec.
Jash: At the moment, our main focus is on acquiring more direct customers. I primarily provide support with technical issues and training.
How well known is MVTec in Taiwan, and what are your plans for next year?
Jash: Our HALCON software is already well known on the Taiwanese market. What we are working on is strengthening the MVTec brand. This is very important because the growth of the semiconductor market in Taiwan is very dynamic, and the machine vision industry is becoming increasingly important. A strong brand helps with this.
Edward: We are proud that a significant percentage of the Taiwanese market already relies on our solutions and products. In the coming year, we aim to strengthen and expand our foundation. We also need to accelerate our efforts to keep pace with developments in the industry due to the rapid pace of technological progress.