text: As a medium-sized company still close to customers worldwide – how is that made possible?
  MVTec Software GmbH has been in business for almost 30 years and has already about 300 employees. The automation industry in which MVTec is engaged is an important topic worldwide and MVTec’s customers are spread all over the globe.
  But how does a medium-sized company from Munich organize and guarantee the best possible support for all customers? The answer: with strong partners and its own subsidiaries! MVTec now has its own offices in the USA, China, and France, with more to follow. On the following pages, employees from the various regions introduce their local markets, their team, and themselves.
  MVTec has been active in China since 2005. The Chinese market is extremely exciting for machine vision and offers great potential. Chen „Jason“ Liang has been working at MVTec since 2021 and, as Head of Sales in China, is in charge of the MVTec subsidiary in Kunshan, Suzhou. In this interview, he introduces his powerful team and describes which opportunities he sees for MVTec in the Chinese market.
  Which customers and sectors are you particularly in contact with?
  Our customer base is very diverse. We have very large, but also small and medium-sized companies as customers. We see great potential for growth with the latter in particular. In terms of sectors, we have a clear focus on the electronics industry. China is traditionally an important international player here. We also see great demand in the areas of semiconductor manufacturing and battery production.
  How important is machine vision in China?
  Machine vision is clearly a sunrise industry – also in China. There are several reasons for this. On the one hand, labor costs are rising in China, which makes it worthwhile for companies to invest in automation. Secondly, we are facing increasing competition from Chinese companies with sophisticated technologies. In addition, we are seeing an increasing demand for deep learning applications. Until now, most applications have been positioning, measurement and code reading or traceability activities. Deep learning opens up completely new applications. As a result, machine vision is no longer just the eye of production, but the topic of collecting and evaluating data is becoming increasingly important.
  What are the subsidiary’s goals for the next few years?
  We are now a large team with eight employees. Since 2023, we have also had a location in Shenzhen with two employees. We have experts from all relevant areas, such as development, technical support, business development, sales, and marketing. We have set ourselves the goal of continuous growth in the coming years. This applies both to turnover and as a team. To achieve this, we want to further strengthen the MVTec brand in China.
  Martin Delabre works together with Marc Dumont at the French MVTec subsidiary in Lyon. Since the beginning of 2023, he has been supporting customers from France and the French-speaking regions of Switzerland, Belgium, and Luxembourg as a pre-sales engineer to develop the best possible machine vision application.
  Based on your many years of experience, you know the French-speaking Western European machine vision market very well. How would you describe it?
  Obviously, we at MVTec also benefit from the trend towards automating more and more processes. In addition, there are various investment programs in France, that, for example, invest heavily in start-ups and even support larger companies in their research facilities or innovative projects. In terms of our specific industry, my impression, also based on experience from my previous positions, is that machine vision is increasingly in demand. This is partly due to deep learning. This technology makes it possible to automate completely new applications using machine vision. We are currently seeing exciting developments.
  With which kind of companies do you work a lot at MVTec France?
  Our customers are very heterogeneous. In France, there is a good mix of small and medium-sized companies and international corporations. Our customer structure is correspondingly diverse. The most important sectors are traditionally the automotive industry, the food and pharmaceutical industries and, more recently, battery production. What is probably specific to France is that there is still great potential in the luxury industry. On the other hand, we have numerous partners in Switzerland who are active in the watchmaking industry. What is new is that we are working on building a network with machine vision integration partners. Together, we can then offer customers even a complete machine vision solution using our software.
  What does your daily routine look like and how do you support customers?
  Fortunately, my daily routine is very varied. As a pre-sales engineer, I have a lot to do with our customers, which I really enjoy. As well as traveling to customer appointments, I prepare technical evaluations and recommendations. It helps that my professional background allows me to put myself in the customer’s shoes and quickly understand their needs and goals. These analyses and recommendations help to develop the optimal application in each case.
  What I have personally realized in my first year at MVTec is that it is a great advantage to have a Customer Services department that responds quickly and competently to inquiries. Our customers really appreciate that.
  John Campbell has been the face of MVTec in the USA for 14 years. As Sales Manager from the very early days of the office’s existence, he has made a significant contribution to MVTec’s success in North America. In this interview, he explains why the North American automation market is such an exciting playground to be working in, some of the keys to his success with customers, and what his personal goals are for the coming years.
  The US government wants to establish new production facilities in the USA with the „Inflation Reduction Act“ investment program. What does this mean for MVTec?
  The Inflation Reduction Act is helping to accelerate the return of manufacturing to the U.S. Industries like electromobility and battery production are playing an increasingly important role here, and their emergence and growth are only possible with automation. As a company that provides important technology within automation, there are many exciting growth opportunities for us here.
  How can the MVTec branch support this and how important is machine vision?
  The importance of machine vision for process and quality control is undisputed. It enables consistent manufacturing quality and reliable production, while reducing costs and reliance on manual labor. At MVTec, we are really well positioned with our software products. We are therefore aiming for stable growth in the coming years.
  What goals do you still want to achieve with MVTec?
  I am fortunate to be working with a really amazing team in the US office. We are highly motivated to provide great service and are passionate about our customer relationships. The collaboration with MVTec colleagues from other locations also works really well and is a lot of fun. Personally, I will be changing my role next year to work as a Key Account Manager. This will allow me to focus on growing our business relationships with our strategic customers to establish MVTec as a long-term technology partner for them. Outside of work, my goals are set on spending as much time as possible with my wife and three children, trying to reverse the physical effects of getting older, and maybe logging a few more hours behind my drums playing music with my band.