China meets machine vision - An emerging industry supports demand for automation and inspection

摘要

Globalization is a trend affecting every industry and, depending on where you stand, is a force to be feared or embraced. To its advantage, the machine-vision industry has embraced this trend. Its network of company offices, distribution partners, and system integrators could be the envy of any relatively small industry that seeks a global reach. Several fast-growing regions of the world, however, are only tentatively tied into this network. China especially, with an industrial growth rate of 20% to 30% per year, presents the largest and most complex opportunity for expanding the machine-vision market. Many machine-vision companies from North America, Europe, and Japan have or plan to set up business in China. The Chinese, in turn, are embracing machine vision as an important tool to increase manufacturing productivity and quality - critical issues even in a nation known for its pool of low-cost skilled labor. Although it was held in a Soviet-era hall, the China International Machine Vision Exhibition in Shanghai (March 22-24) displayed the potential of a 21st century industry that is beginning rapid growth in support of the booming economy. For the numerous international machine-vision vendors at the show, the message was that the still-small Chinese machine-vision market was accessible, modern, and open to business.