One of the world's top five suppliers of machine vision and global market leader in surface inspections systems, Isra Vision has acquired a 24% minority interest in Vistek, a Turkish company based in Istanbul (Vistek Yapay Görme ve Otomasyon Sanayi İç ve Dış Ticaret Anonim Şirketi). Vistek is expected to achieve a total result of almost 1 million EUR in 2009, and can look forward to dynamic growth in future years as well, thanks in no small measure to its new partnership with Isra. Under the terms agreed, Isra is to fully acquire Vistek within the next 3 to 4 years, on the basis of an earn-out model and a corresponding EBIT valuation.

Investing in the Istanbul-based machine vision specialist will open up additional growth opportunities for Isra, by allowing it to intensify its market penetration in Turkey as well as the Middle East and Central Asia. The Isra team already working in Turkey is to be integrated into Vistek, while the Isra Sales Manager will assume responsibility for joint distribution activities. Thanks to expanded on-site service and support, Isra will be able to boost customer benefit throughout the region. Moreover, Isra will exploit Vistek's added application know-how to acquire customers in new market segments, such as ceramics, glass containers respectively thermal imaging.

Vistek was founded by Prof. Aytul Ercil as a spin-off company of Sabanci University. A developer of innovative machine vision solutions, the firm has participated in numerous domestic and international projects and has been recognized for excellence several times, e.g. via the "International Achievement" and "Eureka Success Story" awards. Thanks to her professorship, the company's founder has been able to build upon a close collaboration with Sabanci University. Sabanci maintains Turkey's most advanced machine vision laboratory and has been recognized as a "Potential Center Of Excellence" by the European Union. This fruitful research and development partnership will be continued by Isra. When it comes to realizing future R&D projects together with Vistek, Isra will be able to draw upon Turkey's solid infrastructure, as well as proximity to the university and its technically skilled student body.