VISION 2022: Messe Stuttgart reports ‘strong growth’ in exhibitor numbers

11 Jul 2022

Positive industry sentiment reported after 2021 event is “good omen for the 30th edition,” says organizer.

VISION expo organizer Messe Stuttgart has announced that it is building on the “positive sentiment” follow last year’s successful trade fair. VISION, a world-leading trade fair for the machine vision sector, will open its doors in Stuttgart between 4 to 6 October 2022.

“The machine vision industry is seeing dynamic development while continuing to increase in importance. The outlook for VISION 2022 is promising and expectations are high,” commented Roland Bleinroth, President of Messe Stuttgart.

“The 30th edition of VISION 2022 is the first Messe Stuttgart event to return to particular international significance following the restrictions put in place as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

Anne Wendel of the VDMA Machine Vision sector group of the VDMA Robotics + Automation Association, said. “The robotics and automation industry and, in particular, the industrial machine vision industry, are experiencing full order books. According to a VDMA market survey, sales in the European machine vision industry increased by 17 per cent in 2021.

Wendel added, “The prognoses for 2022 remain largely favourable despite lower expectations due to supply chain disruptions. The VDMA predicts that the German machine vision industry will grow by 5 per cent and see sales of €3.2 billion. The robotics and automation industry on the whole is expected to see growth of 6 per cent at €14.4 billion. This allows us to be optimistic for the upcoming VISION 2022 trade fair.”

Exhibitors on the up

“The current level of VISION registrations and reservations – so far, more than 300 companies – shows that the industry is enjoying great popularity. Overall, we expect the number of exhibitors to grow by around 25 per cent on last year by October,” said Florian Niethammer, Head of Trade Fairs & Events at Messe Stuttgart.

“After a long time without in-person trade fairs, we are looking forward to lively discussion with machine vision experts,” says Bernd Stöber, Senior Vision Product Manager at VISION exhibitor Beckhoff Automation, adding that “Our problem-solving approach using PC-based control systems already covers a wide range of applications.

The rising number of exhibitors is also reflected in the amount of space used for the fair. VISION will once again take place in two of Messe Stuttgart’s halls, which together will have 25% more capacity than in 2021: 25,000 square meters will be dedicated to machine vision.

In October there will be a significant proportion of international exhibitors: the percentage of exhibitors from abroad for the 2022 edition is currently at 56 per cent, compared with an almost 50/50 ratio of national to international exhibitors in 2021.

This year, the exhibitors from the US are well represented, followed in share by Japan, China, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The positive mood of the exhibitors is clear to see, stated the organizer. This is the case with Vieworks, a South Korean camera supplier.

Janice Lee, Sales Manager at Vieworks, said: “Due to Covid-19, we were unable to attend the trade fair in 2021. This makes us all the more delighted to be there once again in 2022, to meet our customers in-person, showcase our products and technologies and learn about the latest market trends.”

Buoyant market

Machine vision is on the increase, argues Messe Stuttgart. Its announcement states: “New trends are taking the field by storm and artificial intelligence has become indispensable. This is also the case at VISION. In light of the technical developments, Florian Niethammer is convinced that VISION offers the right solutions for client industries.

He said, “It will be exciting to see the opportunities that hyperspectral imaging offers, where the trending topics of AI and deep learning are headed, and which of the new developments in embedded vision and 3D will be featured at VISION 2022.”

Among the exhibitors, Swiss company Compar will also be represented among the system providers present in 2022. Stefan Basig, the firm’s Marketing & Sales Manager, said, “As a systems integrator, it is particularly important for us to present potential customers with sophisticated and cost-efficient systems and support them in selecting efficient solutions from a broad range of products. In doing so, it is the systems themselves, which do the persuading. Ultimately, VISION is all about seeing and experiencing everything for yourself.”