By Mark Williamson, Editor-at-Large – Every so often, a company hits the sweet spot combining strong technology with a genuinely differentiated proposition. When these elements come together, companies achieve sustained growth well beyond the long-term industry average, which in machine vision has hovered around 9% according to the VDMA Machine Vision Association.
Behind this performance are leaders with clarity of purpose, a willingness to make incremental but meaningful change, and the discipline to see that change through. The phrase “If you do what you did last year, why expect a different outcome?” is particularly relevant here. It is easy to talk about evolution; implementing it across people, processes, and culture is far harder. Yet this is precisely where differentiation is created.
The period from 2025 to 2026 is shaping up to be a key inflection point for the industry with the industry transitioning from contraction back into growth. At the same time, the industry has experienced a spike in leadership changes, strategic resets, and renewed positioning as companies prepare for the next wave of growth.
In 2026, I’ll be watching:
- Leadership transitions in major OEMs
- Channel-first versus direct sales models
- Brand consolidation within acquisition-heavy groups
- Sensor-level innovation beyond incremental upgrades
What Does Stemmer’s Reset Signal for Value-Added Distribution?
I’ll start with a company I know well: Stemmer Imaging. For many years, Stemmer achieved growth far beyond the industry norm. From revenues of €18.8 million in 2004 operating solely in Germany, the company expanded into a global, publicly traded value-added distributor, peaking at €155 million in revenue in 2022. Importantly, this growth was driven not by scale alone but by genuine added value delivered to customers.
In recent years, following changes in ownership and leadership, the focus shifted toward efficiency and profitability. Many operational improvements were necessary however the company became absent from the market reducing marketing along with the cancelling its training academy and seeing many highly skilled experts leaving the organisation.
In 2025, following delisting after acquisition by a new investor focused on value-added industrial distribution, a new CEO, Paul Scholten, was appointed. Early public messaging and partner feedback suggest a clear intention to move Stemmer back toward its original value proposition. If this ambition translates into action, Stemmer could once again become a benchmark for value-added distribution in Europe and beyond.
Does a Channel-First Strategy Address Vision’s Knowledge Gap?
Staying with value-added distribution, Clearview Imaging stands out as a company that has accelerated impressively since its founding in the UK in 2008. Today, it operates across the UK, France, Germany, and Spain. Managing Director Allan Anderson has consistently emphasised service excellence, supported by a publicly visible customer Net Promoter Score, external certification of all sales staff as Certified Vision Professionals, and one of the most impressive demonstration and training centres in the industry. Coupled with a strong development capability, they help customers de-risk applications while also developing its own IP for vertical markets sold through partnerships. In 2025, Clearview became the first Zebra Machine Vision Competence Centre globally.
I first encountered Zebra in 2017 when the company was researching the market ahead of its entry into machine vision. Recognising the success of players such as Cognex, Zebra identified fixed industrial scanning and machine vision smart cameras as complementary to its existing business. Since launching its first products in 2021, with Donato Montanari leading the MV business unit Zebra made a series of strategic acquisitions including Adaptive Vision, Matrox Imaging, and most recently Photoneo creating a rich technology base to compete.
In contrast to Cognex, Zebra has adopted a channel-first strategy, aligned with the fact that the majority of its $5 billion revenue flows through partners. Machine vision competence centres and incentives for partner collaboration help address one of the industry’s biggest barriers: knowledge. By combining Zebra’s extensive industrial channel reach with deep vision expertise from partners such as Clearview, the growth opportunity is significant. At the end of 2025, Zebra shook up is machine vision leadership promoting Charlie Long, a 16-year Keyence veteran, as General Manager of the Zebra Machine Vision Group.
Can Brand Unification Unlock the Full Value of Acquisition?
TKH Group has spent years acquiring complementary camera manufacturers, starting with Allied Vision in 2015. Allied Vision gained recognition through innovative products.
Subsequent acquisitions including Chromasens, MIKROTRON, NET, and SVS-Vistek created a strong portfolio. However, brand positioning became increasingly confusing, with reduced visibility of the original brands and separate sales teams.
In January 2026, TKH announced that all 2D imaging brands would be unified under the Allied Vision name. This move, arguably overdue, gives customers a clearer view of the group’s capabilities. If the organisation can now align its people behind a shared mission, the opportunity for accelerated growth is real will a compelling full range product line.
How Will Generational Leadership Change Shape Teledyne’s Next Phase?
Teledyne Imaging provides a textbook example of growth through acquisition executed well. Over many years, the company-built market share by integrating acquisitions, retaining key talent, and aligning development under a strong master brand.
What has stood out for me is the stability of its leadership through multiple acquisitions keeping the best people from the wider talent pool combined with relentless innovation. In 2025, the company experienced its most significant leadership transition, with senior leaders retiring and imaging focused former Teledyne group CEO Edwin Roks stepping away.
With Imaging now led by Sadiq Panjwani, formerly of FLIR IIS (Point Grey), Teledyne Imaging in 2026 is set to evolve . I will be watching closely to see how this leadership change and reorganisation influence its trajectory.
Is the One-Stop-Shop Model Sustainable in a Specialist Market?
Basler represents another strategic experiment in the components space. Having evolved from a systems provider into a leading camera manufacturer, Basler has acquired distributors to become a one-stop shop. With CEO Dietmar Ley handing over to long term board member Hardy Mehl in 2026, it will be interesting to see whether this model can compete with broader value-added providers.
Can Cognex Transition from Hardware Leader to AI Platform Player?
Cognex whose track record of growth spans 45 years also saw a change in CEO in 2025 appointing Matt Moschner who intends to transition from a hardware centric model to an AI-driven leader aiming to double its customer base in 5 years.
Is Machine Vision Really at Risk of Commoditisation?
A frequent topic of discussion in European trade association is the threat from Chinese price driven companies. My experience is customers still prioritise long-term trusted partners with shared values over lowest price alone.
VA Imaging (formerly Get Cameras) combines Chinese camera technology with a western business approach with the company appears to be expanding rapidly.
Machine vision is not yet a commodity and requires knowledge to select the right products and reliably integrate them. While AI and deep learning have expanded application possibilities successful systems still require expertise to deliver consistent results and companies that recognise this in my opinion with thrive.
Where Is the Next Structural Innovation Likely to Emerge?
Alongside established players, startups continue to innovate both technologically and commercially. Zetamotion’s software-as-a-service model removes traditional responsibility boundaries, while Medabsy’s digital-twin approach to feasibility testing and synthetic defect data promises to reduce application risk and cost.
Companies such as HD Vision Systems and MSTVision have demonstrated growth beyond the market by having niche and focused innovation combined with service can deliver growth beyond the market average , the CEO of MST Vision Michael Stelzl being listed in of the top 100 leaders by Electro Optics.
Could Sensor-Level Breakthroughs Reshape the Cost Curve?
Looking further ahead, sensor-level innovation could unlock new markets. Singular Photonics’ photon-counting sensors promise step changes in low-noise imaging, while Quantum Science’s quantum dot technology could significantly reduce the cost of SWIR imaging.
Who Is Positioned to Outperform in the Next Cycle?
As growth returns to machine vision in 2026, the opportunity to outperform the industry average is real. Companies that act decisively, evolve thoughtfully, and remain committed to innovation, service, and deeply held values will be the ones to watch. The human element in creating successful solution remains in my opinion as important than the technology itself. Exciting times lie ahead.
