Since the beginning of the year, Robert Franz has been Managing Director of Allied Vision and also heads the German 2D camera manufacturers within TKH Vision. Now he talks with inspect about his plans for the companies and his priorities.

inspect: You are a lawyer by background. How did you end up in the automation world?

Robert Franz: Coming from a family company background I have always been inspired by entrepreneurial spirit and building great businesses. That spirit drove me to complete an MBA in the Netherlands and then join Honeywell, where I had the chance to lead world class organizations in several industries. Throughout my career I have now lived in 6 different countries, running global organizations. But I always go back to my first experience in our family business: What excites me most is to act as an entrepreneur and drive growth.

inspect: You are currently gaining your own impression of Allied Vision and the 2D companies of the TKH Vision Group. What is your interim conclusion?

Franz: Allied Vision, as part of TKH Vision and the TKH Group, comes with a great history in the machine vision industry and is today already one of the leading players, offering cutting edge technologies and products to our global customers. In combination with the strength of the TKH Vision group of companies we have a unique growth potential, serving the automation mega trend. I got the chance by now to meet many of our people on multiple occasions and am impressed with their spirit and capabilities. I am really happy and proud to work with our teams as we are further building out the leading position in our industry, serving our customers, and solving their problems.

inspect: What will be your first projects at ­ ­Allied Vision?

Franz: We will definitely put further focus on building out the strengths of Allied Vision and of the 2D Vision Group, as well as the full potential of TKH Vision and TKH Group. We will put a very specific focus on serving our customers needs, and solving their problems. That always needs to be front and centre: creating value for our customers. And within TKH group we are uniquely positioned to do so.

inspect: In which areas do you want to further develop Allied Vision?

Franz: Beside the clear strengths we have already in place I am a big believer in modern Sales and Marketing. Moving forward we will put additional focus on the ways we reach our customers. Today we are meeting the most informed customers ever in history, and they are expecting the same B2B buying experience that they are used to from being a B2C consumer. We will strive to provide even more value and become the famous “trusted advisor” to our customers.

inspect: Where will the focus be for the further development of TKH-Vision?

Franz: TKH Vision is a group of leading companies in the fields of vision technologies and machine vision. Together they provide an unparalleled portfolio of products and solutions in critical applications and with that provide strong value to our customers in many different industries. TKH Vision group of companies has a unique growth potential, serving the automation mega trend. The vision industry is changing, and that creates many opportunities for our companies and our people. Within that framework, the TKH Solution Center is an organization that can leverage the full portfolio and capabilities of TKH Vision to design, develop and build unique solutions to our global customers’ most challenging problems.

inspect: How will the machine vision industry develop this year?

Franz: I believe that markets may continue to be challenging this year in some areas given the geopolitical situation and the general economic environment. Having said that, I don’t see us as “victims of the market”. We have nearly endless potential to move into new applications and convince new customers from our capabilities. So with that I am looking forward to continued growth for us.

Author
David Löh
Editor-in-chief of inspect