Industrial image processing is expected to generate sales of €3.3 billion (~$3.3 billion) in 2022, corresponding to an increase of 8% compared to the previous year, according to a market study by the VDMA Machine Vision department. Mark Williamson, managing director of Stemmer Imaging and chairman of the VDMA Machine Vision board, discussed the report at the opening of the 2022 VISION trade fair in Stuttgart. Williamson pointed to an industry still experiencing rapid growth despite adverse macroeconomic and geopolitical trends. Mark Williamson, managing director of Stemmer Imaging and chairman of the VDMA Machine Vision board, discussed the annual Machine Visions in Europe report published by the VDMA Robotics + Automation Association together with its sector group VDMA Machine Vision. Courtesy of VDMA. “Industrial image processing is a key component for companies in the international automation race,” Williamson said. “This is impressively reflected in the sales figures: The demand for image processing components and systems developed more strongly than expected in 2021 and rose in Germany by 16% to an industry turnover of 3.1 billion euros. The further growth prospects are good despite the general economic uncertainty for the positive for years to come.” Last year, German manufacturers in the industrial image processing market generated 97% of their sales in two segments: “components,” which made up 50% of sales, and “systems,” which comprised 47% of sales. The export quota of these branches of business is high. In 2021, exports to Asian countries contributed 30% of sales, with the strongest individual market being China — comprising 56% of Asian exports. Exports to China rose by 20% in 2021. The largest growth market in the region was India, up 89% compared to the previous year. Exports to North America saw 15% growth in 2021. Exports to other European countries accounted for 22% to sales. European sales as a whole grew by 15%. Manufacturers of image processing systems achieved 74% of their sales in foreign markets, per the study. Asian countries contributed 33% to sales with exports increasing by 22% in 2021. Chinese business accounted for 38% of Asian exports and grew by 16%. The largest growth market in this segment was India with growth of 20%. Exports to other European countries contributed 24% to sales. The recovery of the European markets is reflected in the books with a sales increase of 22%. Exports to the Americas accounted for 16% of sales, 95% of which went to North America, an increase of 23%. Exports to South and Central America recovered from their 2020 slump — a 63% drop — and rose by 62%. The manufacturing industry is the largest customer sector for industrial image processing in Germany and has a market share of around 60%. In the application fields of image processing components and systems, object recognition (21%) and quality control (20%) have the largest market shares.