Matrix Vision and the software manufacturer iss innovative software services are now part of the sensor and automation specialist Balluff. The corresponding contracts were signed in July and August after a negotiation phase of about six months. 160 employees will strengthen the family business. The locations of both companies in Stuttgart-Vaihingen and Oppenweiler will remain.

With its product portfolio, Matrix Vision complements the program of the Balluff Group in an area that has so far played a comparatively small role: camera-based sensor technology, also called machine vision in specialist circles. Founded in 1986, the company specializes in the development and distribution of frame grabbers, standard industrial cameras, intelligent cameras, video sensors, embedded systems and software in the field of industrial image processing. "Matrix Vision has been a successful development partner for four years," says Balluff Managing Director Florian Hermle. "One of our two cam-branded product lines comes from Matrix Vision. As a result, we already know that we are very well matched and that our product lines complement each other optimally. "Matrix Software has also made a major contribution to the topic of software. Approximately 30 of the 100 employees are primarily concerned with software development in image processing in industrial environments. "With Matrix Vision, we are thus expanding our product spectrum in the area of ​​camera-based sensor technology as well as our capabilities in software development," explains Hermle.

Balluff had increased its sales by 3.3 percent to EUR 378 million (previous year: EUR 366 million) in 2016. With a sales plus of 21.8 percent, Balluff has been very successful in the first half of 2017. Balluff employs 3,550 people at 37 locations around the world with the workforce of the two new employees. While Balluff has taken over 100% of iss innovative software services, 25% of the shares held by the former shareholders remain with Matrix Vision. The high priority the company attaches to continuous innovation is also reflected by the fact that 2017 13.7 per cent of sales were invested in research and development. Worldwide, around 300 developers are working on sensor, identification and networking solutions for industrial automation.