Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin TD today announced that US firm Cognex Corporation, which llisted on the Nasdaq exchange and termed by the minister as "the world’s leader in the machine vision industry," has expanded its international manufacturing and distribution centre in Cork and has moved into a new facility at the Gateway Business Park in the City.

Cognex Corporation of Massachusetts, US, is a supplier of machine vision sensors which gauge, guide, inspect, count and identify products on fast moving production lines. The Cork operation employs 39 people, with responsibility for quality control, supply chain management, and the final configuration, kitting, and distribution of Cognex vision systems, sensors, software and ID readers.  These are devices that help automate the manufacture of a broad range of products by inspecting, identifying and tracking items during the production process.  The new 20,000 square-foot facility will be the base for shipping Cognex products to customers in Europe, Asia and Japan.  It provides a 53% increase in space on the former premises and is needed to meet growing demand for Cognex products in regions outside of the US. 

Martin, performing the official opening of the new facility, said “Cognex Ireland has been very successful to date. This expansion and relocation is excellent news for the company and its workforce in Cork, as it will play an even more strategic role in the company’s international business. The success of this facility in meeting the growing demands for its products and providing a more responsive service to international customers were major influences on the decision to undertake this strategic development here.” 

Dr. Robert J. Shillman, Cognex Chairman and CEO, said “Cognex first opened a manufacturing operation in Cork several years ago in order to provide more responsive service to our international customers. As our international business has expanded, so has the need for increased manufacturing and distribution capacity. This new facility provides Cognex with the capacity to support that growth, and it will help us be even more responsive to our international customers, distributors and partners.” 

Martin continued “IDA Ireland encourages overseas companies to continuously evolve and grow by taking on additional value added activities such as R&D so that companies can keep pace with new technological developments and thereby introduce product and process development improvements.

Ireland provides considerable opportunities and support for companies on the scale of Cognex’s Irish operation to grow and develop into the future”

Cognex designs, develops, manufactures, and markets machine vision sensors and systems, or devices that can “see”.  Its vision sensors are used in factories around the world to automate the manufacture of a wide range of items and to assure their quality.