Cognex Selected by Leading Steel Manufacturer

NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 15, 2002--Cognex Corporation CGNX, the world's leading supplier of machine vision systems, announced today that Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH, a leading European manufacturer of high-grade steel, will integrate Cognex's SmartView surface inspection system at its manufacturing plant in Salzgitter, Germany.

SmartView is a state-of-the-art surface inspection system that is used to automatically detect, identify, and visualize defects in metals and other materials as they are being produced. Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH will use the Cognex vision system to inspect cold rolled steel for defects such as pinholes, flakes and stains during the skin pass operation, a finishing process that is used to improve flatness and produce the final surface finish.

‘‘SmartView helps steel manufacturers improve the uniformity and surface quality of their steel by identifying defects as small as 200 microns,’‘ said Markku Jaaskelainen, General Manager of Cognex's Surface Inspection Systems Division. ‘‘By finding and categorizing defects during the manufacturing process, instead of at the end of the line, SmartView also helps manufacturers improve the yield through the entire manufacturing process.’‘

Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH is a division of The Salzgitter Group, a leading European steel and technology concern comprising more than 80 domestic and international subsidiaries and shareholdings. The Salzgitter Group is among the top five European producers of flat rolled products, and one of the world market leaders in the tubing sector with approximately 18,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of approximately $2 billion.

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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 150,000 machine vision systems, representing over $1 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, and nonwovens. 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.

Contact Information:
Cognex Corporation
Robin Pratt
508/650-3000