The industrial camera manufacturer IDS Imaging Development Systems reports double-digit sales growth of 14% for 2016. As in previous years, the Swabian company's rate of growth has outpaced the market, exceeding the 8% growth predicted by the VDMA for the machine vision sector. The high order intake of 2015 also rose further by 19% in 2016.

The Obersulm-based camera manufacturer, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, attributes the positive development in particular to strong growth in the rest of Europe and in the Asia-Pacific economic region. "The investment in our own sales network is paying off", explains company owner Jürgen Hartmann. "The offices opened in 2015 in the Netherlands and Korea have already achieved excellent results." In January 2017, Hartmann founded a further subsidiary in the United Kingdom. Sending a clear message to the production location in Germany, the company is also investing heavily in its headquarters in Obersulm: thus, the company has put its own production line for SMD mounting into operation and has doubled the floorspace at its headquarters to allow for further growth by acquiring land. To meet the global increase in demand for industrial cameras made in Obersulm, the company is planning to increase its workforce internationally by 10% in 2017.

IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH is also anticipating further double-digit growth this year. To mark the beginning of the anniversary year, the company is launching many new products on the market. Expectations are focused primarily on the new camera models with USB 3.1, additional GigE camera families and the highly-flexible 3D camera series Ensenso X. In addition to the company's own IDS Software Suite, future camera models will also be provided with the GigE Vision standard or the USB3 Vision standard.

IDS currently has around 220 employees and is represented by subsidiaries in the USA, Japan, and UK, and by offices in France, the Netherlands, and Korea. The product range includes industrial cameras with USB 2.0, USB 3.0, USB 3.1, and GigE connections.