Cognex Corporation Promotes James Hoffmaster to President

Business Wire via NewsEdge Corporation : NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 2004--Cognex Corporation (NASDAQ: CGNX), the world's leading supplier of machine vision systems, announced today that James F. Hoffmaster, Cognex's Chief Operating Officer, has been given the added title and responsibility of President of Cognex Corporation. Mr. Hoffmaster will continue to report to Dr. Robert J. Shillman, who remains as Cognex's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

‘‘Jim joined Cognex as our Chief Operating Officer in June of 2001 and was promised the job of President if he proved himself. And, over the past three years he has done just that! Jim is a highly intelligent, personable and energetic leader who has mastered the complexities of our business and has exceeded even my high expectations,’‘ said Dr. Shillman. ‘‘Jim's skills were tested soon after joining the company when our OEM business suffered a dramatic decline due to industry factors; he quickly, but thoughtfully, analyzed the options and then made the difficult decision to reduce our operating expenses while preserving the potential for growth that we are now enjoying. In addition, he recently reorganized the company into five business units in order to better focus our valuable engineering and marketing resources on business opportunities that offer the greatest promise for growth and profit in the future.’‘

Dr. Shillman continued, ‘‘Jim is a great partner and a great Cognoid. For more than a year, he has been functioning as the de facto President of Cognex, and today, we are making it official.’‘

‘‘I was excited to join Cognex three years ago, and my enthusiasm for the business has increased each day as I learned more about Cognex's unique technology and its potential applications in a wide variety of different industries, and, most importantly, as I worked with, and learned to rely upon, the superb team of individuals that Dr. Bob has assembled here,’‘ said Mr. Hoffmaster. ‘‘With the support of our very talented and experienced management team, backed up by hundreds of creative and dedicated employees around the world, I am confident that the growth and prosperity that Cognex has enjoyed in the past will continue on into the future. I look forward to helping to drive and manage that growth as we expand our business into new applications and industries where our technology and our products can have a significant impact.’‘

Mr. Hoffmaster came to Cognex after serving as President of Fibersense, an entrepreneurial, Massachusetts-based company applying unique fiber optic technology to motion and position sensors. Prior to that, he spent 11 years in a variety of increasingly responsible executive positions at Emerson Electric, where his most recent role was as President of Fisher Rosemount Systems, a $320 million division of Emerson. In that position, he successfully redesigned product development processes, shortened time to market, and led the team that conceived, developed, and introduced DeltaV (tm), the industry's first web-enabled industrial control system, that was widely acknowledged to be the most important new product of the decade in its market.

As President and Chief Operating Officer of Cognex Corporation, Mr. Hoffmaster will oversee both of Cognex's operating divisions and will also be responsible for the company's worldwide sales and corporate services departments.

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Dr. Shillman, who has served as President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cognex since the company's founding in 1981, will continue to serve as Cognex's Chairman and CEO, and will focus his efforts on expanding Cognex's presence in new markets for machine vision outside of the company's traditional base in industrial and manufacturing applications, both through acquisitions and new product development.

About Cognex
Cognex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets machine vision systems, or computers that can ‘‘see.’‘ Cognex is the world's leader in the machine vision industry, having shipped more than 200,000 machine vision systems, representing over $1.5 billion in cumulative revenue, since the company's founding in 1981. Cognex's Modular Vision Systems Division, headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, specializes in machine vision systems which are used for automating the manufacture of a wide range of discrete items and for assuring their quality. Cognex's Surface Inspection Systems Division, headquartered in Alameda, California, specializes in machine vision systems which are used for inspecting the surfaces of products manufactured in a continuous fashion, such as metals, paper, plastics. In addition to its corporate headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, Cognex also has regional offices located throughout North America, Japan, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Visit Cognex on-line at http://www.cognex.com.

Forward-Looking Statement
Certain statements made in this press release which do not relate solely to historical matters are forward-looking statements. You can identify these forward-looking statements by use of the words ‘‘expects,’‘ ‘‘anticipates,’‘ ‘‘estimates,’‘ ‘‘believes,’‘ ‘‘projects,’‘ ‘‘intends,’‘ ‘‘plans,’‘ ‘‘will,’‘ ‘‘may,’‘ ‘‘shall’‘ and similar words. These forward-looking statements, which include statements regarding business trends and the company's financial outlook, involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Such risks and uncertainties include: (1) global economic conditions that impact the capital spending trends of manufacturers in a variety of industries; (2) the cyclicality of the semiconductor and electronics industries; (3) the inability to achieve significant international revenue; (4) fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; (5) the loss of, or significant curtailment of purchases by, any one or more principal customers; (6) the reliance upon certain sole source suppliers to manufacture and deliver critical components for the company's products; and (7) the other risks detailed in the company's reports filed with the SEC, including the company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003. You should not place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The company disclaims any obligation to update forward-looking statements after the date of such statements.

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Robin Pratt
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